Concession
by MindOutOfMine
Summary: Has Amy given up the fight for intimacy? Has she exhausted every possible resource available to her? Or will she remember that all's fair in love and war? Note: Chapters 6.5 and 13.5 now available in rated M section.
1. A Madness of Sorts

_Summary_: Has Amy given up the fight for intimacy? Has she exhausted every possible resource available to her? Or will she remember that all's fair in love and war?

Disclaimer: I don't own The Big Bang Theory, but...

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 1: A Madness of Sorts**_

_Journal entry:_

_ Point one: Sheldon has admitted that since meeting me he has not ruled out intimacy. Point two: He has proven to be quite the dirty talker with his Dungeons & Dragons style erotic caresses and nibbles. Point three: After that particularly wild evening, my night ended, albeit alone, with a rather rigorous session with Gerard._

_ One might think that all of these new breakthroughs would inspire me to continue my attempts at persuasion, but quite frankly, I am tired. I'm not tired of Sheldon. He really is the best boyfriend, aside from the lack of physical contact. He satisfies me in every _other_ way that matters. But maybe it's time for me to come to terms with what is happening here..._

_ An asexual romance. A romantic friendship, one might say._

_ It's not necessarily a bad thing. In a way, it's more romantic than relationships of a sexual nature. And sex can't be used as a bargaining chip, which has been known to destroy relationships..._

_ Alright, let's be serious. _I_ can't use sex as a bargaining chip. If Sheldon ever felt the need to do it, he could use it against me all day to get his way. What am I saying? He usually gets his way anyway. I guess I'm just a slave to his every wish._

_ Even now I'm considering giving up on everything I want this relationship to become simply because of the way he wants things to be. Love is all about sacrifice. He's sacrificed a lot for me and I've sacrificed a lot for him._

Amy closed her journal and stared at the cover. "I'd gladly sacrifice anything just to have him in my life. Even if it means giving up on the one thing I want most in the world." She smiled sadly to herself. "Besides, I still have Gerard."

* * *

...the end of date night...

Sheldon was standing beside Amy drying dishes while she washed them. "With my knowledge of the workings of the universe and your knowledge of the workings of the brain, I don't see why we hadn't considered a joint venture in writing a space opera before now."

Amy was sure that Sheldon had been talking the whole time they were washing dishes, but she'd only heard his last couple of statements. "I have an even better idea. Remember when you bought the complete Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD collection for me?"

"Of course I remember. I have an eidetic memory. I remember everything from every moment of my life down to its finest detail," Sheldon reminded her.

"Well, I was thinking that we could spend some weekends doing something I'd like to call 'Next Generation Madness'. We could spend the weekend here and watch a full season of the show each weekend until we're done. All seven seasons. What do you think?" Amy asked. She tried to hand Sheldon a dish she was done washing, but he didn't take it. When she looked at him, he was staring at her. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"But you don't even like Star Trek. That's why I suggested creating our own series instead," Sheldon said.

Amy smiled. "It's okay. It's something you like and I'd get to spend time with you, which is something I like. We both win."

Sheldon took the dish and stared at it for a while. "This isn't some ploy to try and seduce me into coital activities, is it? I've already told you that I'm not ready for anything like that."

"No. That's something else I meant to talk to you about," Amy said with a little laugh. "Having you in my life is enough. You don't like the idea of intimacy, so you don't have to worry about anything like that anymore. I've made peace with it. We have each other and that's all we really need."

"Wait. Are you saying that you no longer wish to engage in any amorous activities?"

"Well, I'm not saying that. I still have needs. Just not with you," Amy told him.

Sheldon's eyes grew wide with surprise. "With who, then?"

"I believe you meant to say 'With _whom_, then'," Amy corrected.

"Amy, please. Now's not the time for a grammar check. Is it Stuart? I know you two hugged on your last date."

"No. Nothing like that. I meant with..." She thought about saying Gerard, but he might get the wrong impression. "...myself." Amy looked at Sheldon, confused. "How did you know we hugged?"

"Not important. So you just came to this decision without running it by me first?" Sheldon asked.

Amy looked confused again. "I...I thought it would make you happy."

"Don't get me wrong. It makes me very happy. That definitely takes a lot of the pressure off. But I've spent the last year trying to figure out how being intimate with you would change our relationship."

"Y-you've been thinking about being intimate with me?" Amy asked, her eyes lighting up like the Fourth of July.

"Of course I have. The Relationship Agreement would have to be amended. You have no idea how much planning those revisions take."

The light in Amy's eyes dimmed. "That's all? No details about actually being with me?"

Sheldon studied the dish in his hands for a moment. "I don't know. You seemed pretty excited about that whole D&D love spell. That crossed my mind at least once."

The light returned. "Really?"

"And the time I gave you a bath. And the way you were breathing and the sounds you made when I put VapoRub on your chest," Sheldon went on, his voice faltering a bit.

Amy gasped and covered her mouth.

Sheldon put down the dish he hadn't dried yet. "Oh dear. Look at the time." He turned to leave.

"Wait, Sheldon. Do you really think of me like that sometimes?"

"Well, I do have an eidetic memory, so every now and then it comes to mind."

Amy moved closer to him. "Does it make you..._feel_ anything?"

"Um...," was all he could muster.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

"No, you deserve to know...," Sheldon began. He thought for a moment, then looked at the abandoned plate on the counter as though he were considering picking it back up to finish the job. "On rare occasions before I go to sleep...and those kinds of thoughts come to mind..."

Amy was already feeling flustered. Her cheeks were stained pink and she had to consciously control her breathing.

"...I have to do what comes naturally, of course..."

Amy's mind raced a mile a minute, imagining how Sheldon would go through with those acts that come naturally to any human being. Would it be well organized like the rest of his life? Spending a set amount of time at set paces? Calculating the pressure he should apply to himself in order to achieve his ultimate goal? Or would it be spontaneous and haphazard? Maybe even clumsy or unsure? Would he be focused? Would he be flustered? What kinds of faces would he make? Oh, and what about sounds? This was all too much for Amy to take. She was practically squirming with excitement where she stood.

"I engage in the Vulcan ritual of Kolinahr," Sheldon went on.

And with that, her fantasies were crushed under the heel of a make-believe species with absurd practices. She narrowed her eyes and looked back at Sheldon, who was staring at her strangely.

There was a long silence between them.

Maybe her best bet _was_ to give up on this. Sheldon was obviously not willing to face his own feelings on the matter. That is, assuming he even _had_ feelings on the matter outside of his precious Relationship Agreement. She was only getting herself into an emotional uproar.

Amy simply gave a singular nod, her lips pursed tightly together. This was all the evidence she needed to confirm the fact that her concession was indeed the right decision. It wouldn't change her feelings, but it WOULD change the way she dealt with them.

"Well, thank you for the clarification. Feel free to set your mind at ease. And get ready for the best weekends of your life when Next Generation Madness begins," Amy told him. She was almost excited just thinking about spending weekends with Sheldon. "I'll even let you have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch. I'll change the bedding before you arrive."

Sheldon gave a heartfelt smile. "You know, until your Next Generation Madness, I dreaded the prospect of spending nights in your apartment. Now you make it sound like an absolute delight. Shall we begin this weekend? I'll inform Leonard that I won't be around for several weekends. He'll be devastated, but he'll just have to learn to carry on without me."

"Let's make sure we're in agreement upon the parameters of NGM," Amy said.

"Of course. Shall I draw up the proper paperwork and bring it in on the first weekend?" Sheldon inquired.

"Please," was Amy's answer. "Now, in order to get an early start on Saturday morning, my suggestion is that you come over on Friday evening—"

"Awwwww, but Friday night is vintage game night," Sheldon interrupted.

Amy thought for a moment, then gave a nod. "How about this? I could come over on vintage game night and once you and your friends are done, I could bring you here."

Sheldon pondered the idea, then turned up his nose a little. "We'd be seeing an awful lot of each other. Between date night and the weekend, we'd practically be together the entire time."

"Proposal: We could temporarily exchange date night with NGM weekends and then pick back up on the following second Thursday once we've finished watching the series," Amy suggested.

Sheldon looked at Amy with adoration in his eyes. "Great minds really do think alike, don't they?"

"Was there ever any doubt?" Amy asked with a smile. "Now, as I was saying, once vintage game night is over, I could bring you back to my apartment where you can sleep in my bed and I will take the couch. We'll rise early on Saturday so you can have your cereal and watch Dr. Who. And then we begin Next Generation Madness, allowing adequate intermissions for stretching, food runs and bodily functions."

"Wait. What about laundry night? Every Saturday night at 8:15, I do my laundry," Sheldon interrupted again.

"I guess we could bring your laundry here and do it during an intermission," Amy suggested.

Sheldon shook his head. "I have no idea what capabilities the washing machines here possess. I also don't know the schedules of the laundry doers in your building. What if that's the time that everyone else in the building wants to do his or her laundry?"

"Hm. We could go back to your apartment then. It would be a place where you're comfortable and you know everything about the machines there. Not only that, but you wouldn't have to haul your laundry back and forth. Would that make you happy?"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly. "That would be sufficient. Go on."

"Of course, you will be spending the night again on Saturday night in the same fashion as the night before and we will begin again on Sunday morning until the season has come to an end. I will then take you home on Sunday evening. What do you think?"

Sheldon nodded again. "That is agreeable. Well, I have a contract to draw up. Goodnight to you, Dr. Fowler."

"And goodnight to you, Dr. Cooper," Amy said.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Hi, there. This is another of my attempts at writing this weird couple. I'm thinking this story might end up being kinda long, so please be patient with me. Let me know what you think and I'll see if I have it in me to put out another chapter.

a/n: Also, if I were Amy and I found out that Sheldon was thinking about me like that, I'd probably jump his bones.


	2. Let the Madness Begin

a/n: Thank you so much for the reviews and the favorites! I put a little bit of a rush on this chapter, so please excuse any mistakes. Also, things may start getting even more OOC, so beware.

a/n: Oh, yeah. I'm sure most of you know this already, but in case it's not clear to some, Gerard is Amy's electric toothbrush, which she uses for certain stress relieving activities. (I probably should have put this note at the beginning of the first chapter...)

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 2: Let the Madness Begin**_

_ Journal entry:_

_ ...And so, convincing Sheldon to spend more time with me through things he liked had proven much simpler than I thought it would. I never thought he would disrupt his schedule enough to accommodate something like this. It's still not in the capacity I desire, but I'll just have to get over it. I've made up my mind. Sex with Sheldon is again off the table. I just hope that I can deal with my sexual frustrations properly with Gerard alone._

_ Though I have found in the past that making up one's mind and sticking to it are two very different matters. I can only hope that I have the strength of will to keep from trying to change _his_ mind on the topic._

Amy once again closed her journal and looked at the clock. She would soon have to go over and pick up her boyfriend. She put on one of her skirts and a short-sleeved blouse, but she didn't bother with putting on a cardigan since she wouldn't be out for very long. It was a warm night anyway. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered putting on so many layers of clothing.

On her way out the door she sighed. "I've never liked the idea of showing too much of my skin. Maybe it's just a habit I picked up from my mother and grandmother," she murmured to herself.

* * *

...soon...

Leonard opened the door at his and Sheldon's apartment and smiled at Amy. "Oh, hi, Amy. Come on in. I heard about your weekend plans with Sheldon. Sounds pretty hot and heavy."

It was sarcasm, but she wasn't about to let that ruin her weekend. "We've decided to keep the 'hot and heavy' out of our relationship. Things are perfect between us just the way they are."

Leonard's smile faded. "Wait, you guys seriously aren't gonna even try being intimate with each other?"

"I don't see where that's any of your concern, Leonard," Sheldon called from across the room. The taller gentleman was putting away the controllers to his Game Cube while their other two friends were throwing away their Chinese food containers.

Leonard knew to leave well enough alone. "Well, you two have a good time."

"Hold it," Howard interrupted, rushing into the living room and over to Amy. "So, it's true? You and Sheldon are gonna be spending the weekend together? At your apartment? It's not just some Hofstadter delusion."

Leonard simply rolled his eyes.

Amy looked at Howard strangely. "It's no delusion. Sheldon and I are having Next Generation Madness."

"I'd call it SOME kind of madness. Sheldon doesn't really do overnight stuff unless it's at his own place," Howard said.

"I've spent the night with Amy before," Sheldon said, still concentrating on his controllers.

"Yes, but that was during some sort of Sheldon Cooper Crisis," Raj commented, finally making his way back to the living room.

Amy was beginning to feel like she was being interrogated and was about to say something, but Sheldon intervened.

"Alright. This isn't an interrogation. I'm spending the next seven weekends with Amy in order to watch in its entirety the Star Trek: The Next Generation series boxset," Sheldon said, as he finished putting away everything. He stood and looked at Amy, whom he hadn't bothered to look at until now and furrowed his brow. "What are you wearing? Where are your clothes?"

Amy was confused. She wasn't sure if she should be happy that he noticed that she was dressed differently or embarrassed that her arms were exposed. She decided that the latter was more appropriate in this situation and she looked at the floor. "I was only going to be out for a few minutes."

Sheldon shook his head in disappointment and rushed off to his room.

Amy looked at the other guys. "Do...do you think he changed his mind about our plans?"

"Let's hope not. I could use a vacation from him," Leonard said quietly.

Both Raj and Howard gave nods of agreement.

Amy folded her arms, suddenly ashamed of the way she'd dressed.

"Alright, come along," Sheldon said to Amy, emerging once again, but carrying what she assumed was an overnight bag, his messenger bag and one of his windbreakers. He handed the jacket to her and headed toward the door. "I can't imagine you're comfortable being so exposed." Opening the door, he turned back to face his friends. "Good evening to the rest of you. I will be back tomorrow night to do laundry."

Everyone looked a little confused while Amy began putting on the jacket.

"I would say 'Have a nice weekend', but I think a more appropriate statement would be 'Good luck'," Howard murmured to Amy.

Leonard and Raj looked at each other and then simultaneously waved to Amy and said, "Good luck."

* * *

...at Amy's apartment...

"There's a chair in the bedroom. You may leave your bag there," Amy said once she'd unlocked the door and let Sheldon in.

"Thank you," was Sheldon's only statement as he headed toward the bedroom.

Amy began to wonder if this had been a bad idea. Her mind had somewhat come to grips with the fact that she and Sheldon would not become intimate, but her body was already pleading to have him touch her. She took a deep breath and realized that the windbreaker Sheldon had given her wasn't helping. It carried his scent and his scent was driving her mad with lust. She quickly removed the jacket and lay it across a chair.

Sheldon came out of the bedroom with a manila folder in hand. "The Next Generation Madness Agreement."

The neurobiologist watched her boyfriend take a seat on the couch in what had been dubbed 'his spot' and she sat beside him. One look at the folder told her that this was somehow longer than a few pages.

"We discussed this for less than five minutes. What is all this?" Amy asked.

"You'll have to read it to find out," Sheldon told her.

Amy did just that and found that half of what was written therein were physicalities he was allowing her and which were off limits during their weekends. She frowned and lay the folder on the couch between them. "I'm not signing this."

Sheldon looked confused. "What? Is there something you don't agree with?"

"I already told you that there's no need to worry about being intimate with me? Why bother allowing me to...," Amy began. She flipped to a page and read off of it. "...'hold hands during viewing'?"

"Don't you like holding hands while watching movies? Granted, this isn't a movie, but it's comparable," Sheldon said.

Amy sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Sheldon, I'm glad you're trying to allow for things that would make both of us happy, but don't you think that allowing physical contact would only make me want MORE intimacy?"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "How should I know? I've never done any of this before."

This was all just making Amy's head hurt. "I'm sorry, Sheldon. Why don't we just leave out everything physical and just enjoy the show? Believe me, it'll make things easier for both of us."

"Alright," Sheldon said, holding up his hands in defense. "You'll have no argument from me on that front." He picked up the folder and started putting lines through huge sections of the agreement.

Amy was a little curious as to just how much of that agreement included being physical and why he had decided to include so much of it all of a sudden. She hadn't read far enough into the agreement to see what all was going on that he felt the need to cross out.

Before Sheldon had a chance to finish what he was doing, Amy took the agreement from him and looked at some of the crossed out sections. She saw the word "cuddle" and her face immediately turned bright red. She looked at Sheldon with tearful eyes.

"Don't get any weird ideas. I was just trying to let you have a little of what you wanted since you were giving up so much of your time watching something in which you have no interest," Sheldon said, studying his hands.

"But I already told you that I would be getting something I wanted. I only want to be with you. I don't want you to have to do a bunch of stuff you don't like just to make me happy," Amy told him.

Sheldon appeared to be deep in thought for a while, but as soon as he was about to say something, Amy interrupted.

"Besides, since it won't end in a night of fierce lovemaking, it would just be torture for me. But it was very sweet of you to offer. Now, let's get the rest of this physical stuff off of this agreement," Amy said, handing the paperwork back to him.

"Alright," Sheldon said.

Amy watched as Sheldon silently went back to striking through the "physical stuff" in the contract and she was once again surprised that it was taking so long and that there was so much of it.

"I'll have to revise the Relationship Agreement as well, now that there is no longer any required physical contact," Sheldon said.

In a way Amy was beginning to regret this. Sheldon had been making strides in the right direction as far as being physical was concerned and now she was cutting all of it out. Was this a mistake? Or was she just trying to protect herself in case intimacy between them never happened?

"By the way, you didn't offer me a beverage when I came in," Sheldon reminded her, still crossing things out.

"Oh, you're right. Yoohoo?" Amy asked, getting to her feet.

"Yes. And just as a reminder, you may want to put on one of your cardigans."

* * *

They began watching the series early since it wasn't quite bedtime yet. The two sat quietly through the Encounter at Farpoint saga, an exploit which lasted one and a half hours. Amy had spent a lot of this venture sneaking peeks at her boyfriend, who looked like he was really enjoying himself. Just seeing him like that was enough to put a smile on Amy's face. She was most definitely getting something out of this.

Now that the show was over, Sheldon was looking at her hopefully. "Well?"

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Well what?"

"What did you think?" Sheldon asked.

"You already know what I thought when we were first watching this show years ago. I don't like it. You have an eidetic memory. You should know that."

Sheldon frowned and looked at the coffee table. "I guess I was hoping that time may have opened your mind to better things. But that's one of the things I like about you, Amy. You're not afraid to speak your mind. You could have easily said that you like it simply because I like it."

Amy looked confused. "So you like it when people disagree with you?"

"Of course not. Have you learned nothing about me in the past few years? No. I mean that I've watched couples compromise over and over again until they're not even true to themselves anymore..."

Amy thought about that for a while. Was her giving up on intimacy with Sheldon being untrue to herself? Or was he hinting that his conceding to intimacy would be untrue to himself? Oh, she was so confused. If only she could let this whole thing go without ever thinking about it again, she would be much better off.

"I respect our differences of opinion, even if your opinion is wrong. Star Trek: The Next Generation is a masterpiece of fiction," Sheldon went on.

Amy made a failed attempt at stifling a laugh. "It's getting late. Goodnight, Sheldon." She went over to the pile of bedding she'd laid out for her night on the couch.

The lanky physicist stood and nodded to his girlfriend. "Goodnight, Amy."

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Okay, this chapter was a little easier to write, though I'm still always nervous when posting them. Hope you liked it. Please review. And as a warning, I don't have as much free time on my hands as I did during the holidays, so these chapters may start slowing down pretty soon. I'll try my best to keep updating though.


	3. And the Madness Continues

a/n: Thanks so much for the love, people. You're the reason I keep writing. Well, that and because it's fun. So, let's also say that you're the reason I keep _posting_. You truly are an inspiration.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 3: And the Madness Continues**_

Trying to sleep that night had almost been impossible. The couch was comfortable enough, but she knew that her boyfriend was in her bedroom lying in her bed. That simple thought was enough to warm her entire body.

(Keep it together, Amy Farrah Fowler. You can do this. It's an innocent sleepover and you're both having a good time in your own ways,) Amy thought. (If you can make it through this weekend, the rest will be easier.)

Yet she was imagining sneaking into her bedroom and sliding underneath the covers with Sheldon. Perhaps he wouldn't wake and, if chance permitted, his hand would brush her thigh. She was getting tingles all over just thinking about it. As a matter of fact, she was feeling much too antsy to sleep. She glanced at the clock which read 1:48AM and sighed.

(I need a shower. With Gerard,) Amy thought. (But is Gerard in my bedroom? I don't want to risk waking Sheldon just because I'm hot and bothered...) She pondered that for a moment and grinned to herself. (I wonder if we were intimate would he let me wake him to have sex. I know I wouldn't mind if he did it to me.)

She decided against searching for Gerard and just had a shower with a vigorous hand session. Sleeping was much easier after that.

* * *

Amy awoke and stretched, refreshed from her wee hours shower, but was startled to see Sheldon standing over her with a bowl of cereal in hand.

"It's almost time for Dr. Who," Sheldon told her.

"Oh. Sorry," Amy murmured. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Did you sleep well?"

Sheldon took a seat in his spot and shook his head wearily.

"Really? That's a shame. Do you think you'd prefer the couch?"

"No," Sheldon sighed. "I guess it's just that I'm out of my element here."

"From what I hear, you never have problems sleeping at Penny's," Amy pointed out.

"You're right. Maybe it's the building," he suggested, looking at the ceiling. He glanced at Amy. "This place wasn't formerly a watch factory, was it?"

Amy was a little confused by the question, but she was almost sure that her building had only ever been an apartment building. "No."

Sheldon nodded slowly.

The neurobiologist passed Sheldon the remote and stood. "Well, you should get to your Dr. Who while I take care of my morning ablutions. I'll be back in time for the continuation of Next Generation Madness."

Her boyfriend turned on the television, found the proper channel and went about enjoying his breakfast.

Amy made sure to find Gerard and leave it in the bathroom for the duration of Sheldon's stay at least.

* * *

After taking care of bathroom business, Amy emerged and poured herself a bowl of cereal just as the ending credits for Dr. Who rolled.

"Oh, Amy. You should have seen today's episode of Dr. Who. It was riveting," Sheldon told her as she was taking her seat on the couch.

Amy was about to put her bowl down to start the DVD, but Sheldon stood and began working on it.

"Are you ready for our second session of NGM?" Sheldon asked, sounding much more refreshed than he had earlier. "I want to warn you though, while this next episode is a nice nod back to the Original Series episode 'The Naked Time', its location within the series is all wrong. True, 'The Naked Time' was Episode 4 in the original series, but their writers did a much better job establishing the characters during the three episodes prior."

She had no idea what her boyfriend was talking about, but she was sure that whether he explained it or not, she would still dislike the series. She simply shoveled cereal into her mouth and nodded.

* * *

Strangely, though, after the episode she looked at the physicist and couldn't help comparing him to the android. Amy eyed Sheldon for a long time and wondered, (If that woman could get her android associate to perform sexual acts with her, why can't I get my android boyfriend to do the same?)

She'd always heard that Sheldon was a fan of Second Officer Lieutenant Commander Data. What were his views on Data's behavior in this particular episode? Why did she even care? She had terminated all physicalities in their relationship...

Regardless, Amy looked at Sheldon hopefully. "Well?"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "Well, what?"

"What did you think?" Amy asked.

Sheldon paused the show and stared at the television, thinking for a moment. Then he shook his head and looked back at Amy. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"Data just had sexual relations with Yar," Amy pointed out.

Her boyfriend's eyes lit up and he couldn't contain his excitement. "My, for a person who claims not to like the show, you seem to be getting into it. You know their names and everything. Oh, I bet you're on the edge of your seat for the next episode." He was about to start the player again, but Amy stopped him.

"You didn't answer my question."

Sheldon looked confused. "What question?"

Amy would have face-palmed had she not thought Sheldon might be offended by the gesture. "What did you think about Data and Yar becoming intimate?"

"Oh, that. Poor writing. It happens from time to time," Sheldon explained.

Amy frowned. "I don't know. I thought it was kinda sweet. The emotionless android and the woman who doesn't quite feel like a woman..."

Sheldon looked at Amy and smiled one of the warmest smiles she'd ever seen on his face. "Look at us. Discussing our opinions on Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes. I never would have thought I'd see the day when that happened."

Amy sighed and turned back toward the TV. (How could someone so smart be so dumb?) she thought. "Let's continue."

* * *

Amy spent most of the next three episodes trying to figure out how she was going to get past wanting to be intimate with her boyfriend. This first weekend so far had been extremely frustrating and she was finding it difficult to cope. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, seemed to think that getting rid of all the physical aspects of their relationship was the best thing that could have ever happened to them.

Simply trying to talk herself out of wanting a sexual relationship with her man wasn't working at all. Especially since he was sitting so close to her. What else could be done? She didn't want to go back on her word.

Oh, how she wished seduction would make him interested. Then she could blame all of this on him. Strangely enough, he seemed to be the one who was doing the seducing. Sitting there with those sexy shoulders and that neck, those long hands and that ultra hot slight grin plastered to his pale face while he watched one of his favorite TV shows.

She needed a new plan. Something that would help her keep her mind off of sex.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a question from Sheldon. "Are you sure you don't want us to write our own space opera? Now that you're taking more of an interest in the show, I think that we'll both have more fun writing one."

"Why don't we just watch the one that's been written for us? We've already made plans to do that for the next two months. Maybe once Next Generation Madness is over we can see where things stand," Amy said.

"You're actually considering it? What a girlfriend!" Sheldon stated with that grin plastered to his face once again. "I just don't see Howard or Leonard ever getting that kind of a response from their ladies regarding that particular topic. You've made me a very happy man."

Amy could only watch as her boyfriend looked down at his hands on his lap, the same smile on his face. Something else was there as well. Was he blushing? Sometimes she really couldn't understand Sheldon. What exactly was he blushing about? She'd found over the years that he was rarely embarrassed by anything. And if this were embarrassment, what was he embarrassed about?

"Shall we order lunch?" was all Amy could think to bring up. "If we order pizza, we can watch the next episode before it arrives."

"Alright," Sheldon replied quietly, almost coyly.

(Really. What is going on in his head?) Amy wondered.

* * *

The more she thought about it, the more things started to make sense. Writing his own space opera would allow him to live out his fantasy of boldly going where no one had gone before. What if she were to write her own fantasy? Maybe if she wrote stories about intimate encounters with her boyfriend, it would satisfy her urge to actually sleep with him.

She could play out every fantasy she'd ever had by writing it as a little story. It was perfect.

Sheldon startled her by suddenly getting to his feet. "Laundry time. Let's go." He turned off the DVD player once the episode ended.

Was it already close to eight o'clock? She'd been spending far too much time trying to figure out a way to ease the burden of her want. "Of course," she said, getting to her feet as well. She grabbed her laptop bag. There was no reason she couldn't start early, considering Sheldon would be pre-sorting and pre-soaking anyway.

When they arrived at the apartment, it was empty. Leonard must have been at Penny's for the night.

"Hm. Leonard must be staying with Penny tonight," Sheldon commented. He gave a shrug. "Oh, well. I hope you don't mind making yourself comfortable here while I take care of my laundry."

This was almost too convenient. Amy smiled and nodded. "I don't mind. I'm just gonna catch up on some work." She sat in her usual seat on their couch.

"That's my girl," Sheldon said. "You're not at the top of your field for nothing."

Amy opened her laptop and watched Sheldon hurry off to his bedroom to retrieve his laundry. He'd just complimented her without including a compliment for himself in any way. That was a surprise. It almost made her feel bad about lying to him. Almost...

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter of Concession. I can't believe how nervous I still am about putting this stuff out. Anyway, please review. I'm already working on the next chapter.


	4. Fancy is Madness

a/n: Warning! This chapter may seem a little confusing, but just remember that the stuff in italics is the stuff that Amy is writing. I hope that comes across well enough.

a/n: Another warning! I am in no way a Star Trek: The Next Generation aficionado, though I do enjoy the show. I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies, misquotations, misinterpretations, etc. But _do_ feel free to point them out in the review section or you could send a private message to me. I don't mind.

a/n: Thanks again for the inspiration to continue this story, now let's get to it.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 4: Fancy is Madness**_

After watching her boyfriend make his exit, Amy began pondering how she should go about writing her story. This was a little tricky since the only things she'd really ever written that weren't job-related were journal entries, which she had plenty of experience writing. For the longest time, her journal was the only thing she had to which she could express her feelings. As a matter of fact, she had friends now, but her journal was still a very important part of her life.

Amy was sure that she'd sat there for at least thirty minutes, simply trying to figure out how to start her story, but nothing would come to mind. If she didn't come up with something soon, her boyfriend would be done with his laundry altogether.

(Why not just begin with your thoughts during the first night of NGM? That's a good place to start,) she thought. She gave a nod to no one in particular and began typing:

_ Trying to sleep that night had almost been impossible. The couch was comfortable enough, but she knew that her boyfriend was in her bedroom lying in her bed. That simple thought was enough to warm her entire body._

(Third person? Really?) Amy thought. (Well, I guess it's like looking in on another me. A me who gets what she wants. It's not a page from my journal, after all...) She mentally giggled at that thought.

_ (Keep it together, Amy Farrah Fowler. You can do this. It's an innocent sleepover and you're both having a good time in your own ways,) Amy thought. (If you can make it through this weekend, the rest will be easier.)_

_ Yet she was imagining sneaking into her bedroom and sliding underneath the covers with Sheldon. Perhaps he wouldn't wake and, if chance permitted, his hand would brush her thigh. She was getting tingles all over just thinking about it..._

Amy squirmed a bit with the simple recollection of her thoughts. Then she decided that she didn't have to stick to the facts of the situation. If she did, she would get nowhere fast. She could do anything she wanted. She continued typing:

_Why not make her fantasies reality? She gathered her courage and shuffled over to the bedroom door, nearly faltering until she heard him breathe a sigh in his sleep..._

Amy paused again, furrowing her brow. He'd told her that he'd had trouble sleeping last night. Maybe she should make something up from that:

_Why not make her fantasies reality? She gathered her courage and shuffled over to the bedroom door, nearly faltering until she heard him tossing and turning. Nervousness and anticipation trickled down her spine and she stood there in the now opened doorway, wondering whether he was asleep or not._

_ "Amy? What are you doing in here?" Sheldon asked._

_ Amy could barely make out the fact that he had sat upright in the bed. It was much too dark to see anything._

_ "I was having trouble sleeping. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have disturbed you," Amy replied. She turned on her heels and was about to leave when she was stopped by his voice._

_ "You know, I'm having some trouble sleeping as well," Sheldon said in a small voice. "This being your room and your bed, my olfactory system is being bombarded by your scent."_

Amy chuckled to herself. (I can't believe I'm writing this. Just because I obsess over his scent doesn't mean he would obsess over mine,) she thought. (But why not? It's my fantasy. I do what I want.)

_"I thought clean linens would be enough. Maybe I should have used disinfectant," Amy said to him with a frown. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the dim light shining in from her bedroom window and she could finally make out some of Sheldon's features. The first thing she noticed was that his eyes shot up at her after her statement._

_ "No, that's not what I mean. I mean that—" Sheldon began. His eyes lowered once again. "I mean that it just feels like you're in the same room with me. In the same bed."_

Amy squirmed again. "This is hot," she said aloud.

Unfortunately, Sheldon had entered the room again. "What's hot?" he asked as he walked past her toward the kitchen.

Amy gasped and was about to slam her laptop shut, not wanting him to see what she was working on. Then she decided against it. She knew her boyfriend. He simply wasn't curious enough to attempt looking at her screen. "My...laptop is hot... On my lap...," she lied.

"Oh. Well, let me help you with that," Sheldon offered. He rushed off to his bedroom and brought back a laptop fan. "This should keep things cool for you." He gave her the fan and a small smile. "Would you like a beverage?"

"Water, please," Amy replied.

After the usual pleasantries, Sheldon took a seat at his desk to get a little of his own work done. This was a big distraction for Amy, but she did her best to go on writing anyway...

_"I'm having trouble interpreting your comment," Amy stated. "Especially since you don't like the idea of other people being in bed with you."_

_ "Not until I was surrounded by your intoxicating aroma," Sheldon said._

(Alright. This is getting way out of hand and way out of character,) Amy thought. She looked over at the back of her boyfriend's neck and sighed. (If only...)

_"You'll have to speak plainly, Sheldon," Amy insisted._

_ But Sheldon decided not to speak. Instead, he pulled back the covers on one side of the bed. An invitation to join him, no doubt._

(Yeah. WAY out of hand...,) Amy thought again. But she went on typing anyway.

_Amy walked over next to the bed, but simply stood beside it at first. "Are you sure about this?"_

_ "Yes. I've been thinking, 'what would it be like if the real Amy were here?' I just want to know what it feels like. Call it scientific curiosity," Sheldon finally explained._

_ Amy stilled for a moment. Wasn't this what she'd been waiting for these past few years? Why was she suddenly hesitant?_

_ "Please, Amy. It's getting cold," Sheldon said._

_ Her hesitation went flying out the window and she immediately climbed into bed with him. Feeling him so close was just about enough to undo her right then and there, but then the unthinkable happened. Her boyfriend slipped an arm around her waist and cuddled closely to her._

Amy squirmed in her seat again and took a deep breath. She never knew how much the thought of having Sheldon initiate _anything_ would effect her. She took a sip of her water and continued.

_She could feel Sheldon's breath on her cheek and it made her wonder if this was all he wanted to do. Just feel her next to him. Simply hold her in his arms while he slept. That is, until Sheldon's hand began to slowly move up and down her side._

The neurobiologist couldn't sit still, heat pooling between her legs, her "lady trigger" becoming rigid with anticipation. She sat staring at the words she'd just typed. Was this story writing of hers counter-productive? Was this just making her want her boyfriend more? She looked up at Sheldon and noticed he had turned in his chair and was looking at her.

Neither of them said anything for a moment and Amy began to wonder if Sheldon might in fact be a mind reader.

"You know, Amy. If you have to relieve yourself, our bathroom is always available for use," Sheldon told her. "Your constant movement is making it difficult to focus."

Thank goodness. He thought she only had to pee. That was a relief. A telepathic Sheldon was the last thing the world needed. "Sorry. I'm just excited about what I'm writing." It wasn't a lie. "I'll try not to disturb you."

Sheldon looked at her for another long moment, then turned back to his work.

This gave Amy license to return to her own "work".

_His long fingers felt like magic at her waist. She knew she didn't have the appropriately named 'hourglass' figure that some girls had. Was he studying her shape?_

_ Those same fingers fell like raindrops to her hip and simply rested there. "Amy, I have a confession to make."_

_ Amy's breath caught in her throat before she was able to respond. "Yes?"_

_ "Those nights when I find myself thinking of you... There's no amount of Kolinahr that can quell my desire," Sheldon admitted._

_ "R-really?"_

_ "When I long for you, a part of me stiffens—" Sheldon began._

_ "Oh, my," Amy gasped._

_ "—and I have no choice but to touch myself. And I imagine it's your hand grasping me. And it all ends as quickly as it begins," Sheldon went on._

Amy again found herself staring at the words, then she looked up at Sheldon, who was again turned toward her. Had she been wiggling in her seat again? She'd tried so hard not to.

Sheldon looked as though he'd been caught doing something naughty. Or maybe Amy was just imagining it. He averted his eyes toward the kitchen. "I've never seen you so excited about your work before. Your face is even flushed."

Amy was sure that she'd reddened even more after hearing that. "What can I say? I love my work."

"Well, please don't let me disturb you," Sheldon said, turning back toward his own computer.

Something didn't seem right. Was she disturbing him with all her fidgeting? If so, then why did he insist that _he_ was the one disturbing _her_ this time? Amy shook her head to help clear her thoughts and went on with her story.

_"Don't you see, Amy? I'm afraid that when we do become intimate, I'll disappoint you," Sheldon continued._

_ "You said _when_ we become intimate and not _if_ we become intimate," Amy pointed out._

_ "Of course. Eventually it _will_ happen," Sheldon assured her._

_ "Oh, Sheldon. If brevity is your concern, you don't have to worry about that. I probably won't last very long either. I'm already halfway there just from having you touch me of your own free will."_

Amy was a little confused. Why was she coming up with this elaborate story when she knew exactly what she wanted to get to? Then again, all the good romances had elaborate stories surrounding the intimacy. That's why they called it "romance" rather than just "erotica".

She nodded to herself and frowned. This first attempt wasn't very romantic or erotic. (Even though it _is_ enough to get the "juices" flowing,) she thought. Her gut told her to scrap this story and try again. But maybe if she wrote more, it would get better.

Amy heard Sheldon stand and she quickly closed her laptop. "Are your clothes done drying?" she asked.

"Yes," was Sheldon's only reply.

"I'll come down and help you," Amy suggested.

"Oh, that's not necessary."

"I'd like to."

Sheldon pondered that for a moment, then shrugged and gave a nod. "Alright."

The two made their way to the laundry room and Amy cleared her throat. "So, Sheldon. Are you enjoying Next Generation Madness so far?"

His expression, solemn before, morphed into all smiles. "Yes. It's been a lot of fun. I'm especially enjoying the fact that you're becoming interested."

But besides that third episode, she hadn't really expressed any interest in the series. Seeing him so happy awoke butterflies in her stomach. If learning more about the series would make him even happier, then perhaps she should pay more attention to what was going on. Even if he didn't look kindly on the fact that people compromised who they were for the ones they loved, he seemed to like where it was going so far. "I'm having a lovely time as well, Sheldon. I especially enjoy spending time with you."

The look on his face right now was better than anything she could ever imagine writing. Her fantasies had nothing on the reality that was her boyfriend.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Again, thank you for taking the time to read this chapter. Do you like where this is going? Are you bored out of your mind? I know this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but I think you'll like the ideas I have for the next one. Reviews tend to help light the creative fire, so please let me know what you think.


	5. Mad Mad World

a/n: Thanks again for the love, people. It means a lot to me.

a/n: I know this story moves along rather slowly. It will pick up the pace pretty soon (lest this story end up being 155,000 chapters long). Anyway, on with the show.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 5: Mad Mad World**_

It was almost bedtime when the two returned to Amy's apartment, but Amy wasn't really tired yet. She wondered if Sheldon was. He hadn't said much during the drive back, so he probably was.

"Would you like to watch another episode or two before bed?" Amy asked. "I could make popcorn. We are only on the 16th episode, after all. If we intend to finish the season by tomorrow evening, we'll really have to put in overtime."

"You're right. Oh, I know. Let's stay up as late as we can tonight," Sheldon suggested. "We'll see how far we can get."

Amy grinned. "Alright. Let's do it. We should get dressed for bed. Then you can set up the player and I'll start the popcorn."

"I'm way ahead of you," Sheldon said hurrying off to her bedroom.

Once the popcorn was made, Sheldon put it in a bowl while she took her turn to dress for bed, then he turned out all the lights. This was a bit of a shocker for Amy because this was something they hadn't done on the first night.

"We should use your throw too so we can be nice and cozy," Sheldon suggested again.

"...O-kay?" Amy said a little hesitantly. She'd expected to sit on the other side of the couch like yesterday but it would be impossible to share her tiny throw like that. Had he intended for them to share her tiny little blanket, or was he going to use it by himself? She handed the throw to Sheldon, then took her seat on the other side of the couch.

Sheldon looked a little confused and disappointed. "Don't you want to be cozy too?" he asked, offering her the other side of the blanket.

Amy shrugged nonchalantly, and, as if it weren't a big deal, she scooted to the middle of the couch and covered herself. They were actually sitting side by side, nearly shoulder-to-shoulder, and Sheldon seemed comfortable with that. Was it because she'd vowed that they needn't make physical contact? She could see how that would bring him comfort with their closeness. Maybe she was just thinking too much. She should really concentrate on the show instead.

* * *

Sleep had nabbed Amy after only one and a half episodes of drifting in and out. Strange, considering she wasn't tired when she arrived. Then again, she hadn't slept well that first night, so it should have been no surprise. What _was_ a surprise was that she found herself leaning against a dozing Sheldon. What surprised her even _more_ was that their hands were locked together, fingers entwined. She hadn't remembered doing that. Maybe she'd interlocked their fingers while she slept. Either way, it all went against everything she was trying to avoid.

She sat up quickly, startling Sheldon out of sleep.

"Danger! Danger! Danger!" Sheldon chanted as he sat upright, alert.

Amy knew her boyfriend was..._quirky_, so that particular display seemed almost normal. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the presence of mind to unclasp their hands. "No danger. Just me."

Sheldon sighed and leaned back against the sofa. "Oh, thank goodness."

Amy felt Sheldon's fingers wiggle and she quickly pulled her hand away. "Sorry."

"What for?"

"Apparently, I can't keep my hands off of you after all," Amy informed him. "I must have grabbed your hand in my sleep. I assure you it wasn't on purpose."

Sheldon simply looked at her and in the soft glow of only television light, she couldn't really read his expression.

"It won't happen again," Amy said, looking away.

"Alright," was his only response.

No argument? No lecture? Just a one word reply? Her quirky boyfriend suddenly seemed just plain odd.

"I shouldn't have leaned against you either. Sorry about that," Amy went on.

"Okay."

'Okay'? Now this was getting weird. She looked at Sheldon for a long time, but he couldn't seem to look at her. His eyes quickly darted away. Sometimes Amy wished she would have studied psychology, but she was afraid that her boyfriend's eccentricities were so peculiar, they would go against all the rules anyway.

After a moment, Sheldon went on, "You are forgiven." But he still wouldn't look at her. "Oh, dear, would you look at the time. We still have an early day ahead of us tomorrow."

It was after one o'clock. She wouldn't have minded spending the night on the couch with him, but alas, he was already up and had practically vanished into her bedroom.

A slow blink and a sigh told her that she was much too tired to really contemplate this situation. Who knows? Maybe he was just tired too.

* * *

Almost four hours later, Amy awoke groggily and frowned. She wanted to sleep more, but her mind was racing too much to rest properly. She'd made a complete fool of herself in front of Sheldon. After declaring that she didn't want them to be physical anymore, she'd not only taken his hand in her sleep, but she'd leaned against him. It was embarrassing and it made her look desperate. But she couldn't lie and say that she didn't enjoy it. Feeling his long slender fingers between each of hers was like a dream come true.

A shower. That was what she needed. And now Gerard was in the bathroom, so maybe that could help calm her down. Maybe she was masturbating too much lately. Or maybe it wasn't enough. All she knew was that now that she had a boyfriend who had no interest in anything physical, she'd had to resort to this kind of self-abuse more often.

After her shower and satisfaction, Amy decided to pick up where she left off on her fantasy tale of Sheldon actually having an interest in her beyond the intellectual...

_"Don't you see, Amy? I'm afraid that when we do become intimate, I'll disappoint you," Sheldon continued._

_ "You said _when_ we become intimate and not _if_ we become intimate," Amy pointed out._

_ "Of course. Eventually it _will_ happen," Sheldon assured her._

_ "Oh, Sheldon. If brevity is your concern, you don't have to worry about that. I probably won't last very long either. I'm already halfway there just from having you touch me of your own free will."_

She stared at the last words on her screen and giggled quietly to herself. (Considering my last stint in the shower, brevity would probably be more _my_ problem than his,) she thought.

_There was a long silence between them and they simply enjoyed each other's company and closeness for a moment._

_ "So, you don't mind just starting with a little touching?" Amy asked quietly. "I know you don't want to rush into anything you're uncomfortable with."_

_ Sheldon sighed. "It must be okay. I'm touching you now."_

_ "I mean, more _involved_ touching."_

_ He didn't answer, but the fingers on Amy's hip slowly spidered their way up her side again. She gasped when she felt their warmth touch the side of her breast even through her night gown. So, he was curious about her cleavage?_

_ "You're already getting the hang of second base," Amy murmured._

_ Sheldon didn't comment at first. His fingers simply feathered across the roundness until they found her stiffening nipple. "Lately I've been wondering what they felt like."_

Amy sighed aloud. That was from all of her recent encounters with Sheldon when she would notice his eyes would wander to other places besides her face. She knew that for him it wasn't possible, but she secretly hoped that he was 'checking her out'. No such luck. That was just the way Sheldon was. If his eyes darted someplace else during conversation, he most likely wasn't focusing on anything in particular. Besides, she'd seen him do it when he talked to other people too, so it was no big deal.

But in her little fantasy world, she could make it as big a deal as she wanted.

_Amy tried to distract herself by having a conversation with him. "I know they're not as perky as Penny's...," she said sadly._

_ "What does that matter? You're you," Sheldon told her. With that he gave her nipple a light squeeze._

The neurobiologist almost couldn't take it. The pleasure centers of her brain were going haywire without the use of physical or electro-simulation.

_Amy wasn't sure if that was even a response, but it did somehow get the point across. She hummed contentedly as her boyfriend's thumb flicked across the sensitive nub. Then it occurred to her that he was having all the fun. So, as not to startle him, she slowly moved her hand over to his chest. It wasn't as firm as she imaged the guys on the covers of those romance novels were, but it was her Sheldon and she loved it._

_ That must have been what he meant when he said "You're you." The warmth between her legs fully ignited and she squirmed a bit._

_ "Amy," Sheldon whispered, nearly sending her over the edge._

_ "Yes?"_

_ "There's something I want to do. Something I've been meaning to do but lacked the courage," Sheldon went on, propping himself up on his elbow._

There was a gasp in the little hallway behind her and she nearly screamed. When she turned around, she saw Sheldon standing there, looking at her strangely.

"What are you doing awake at this hour?" he asked.

Amy quickly shut her laptop. "I couldn't sleep. What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep either. I was going to make some tea and see if I could get a few more hours under my belt," Sheldon replied, walking on into the kitchen. He looked at the clock. "Then again, it is after five—one of those ambiguous times of the day. Were it a work day, I would simply stay up. Then again, were it a work day, I would be on my regular, uninterrupted sleep schedule."

Amy stood and went to the kitchen with him. "I'm so sorry, Sheldon. This is all my fault. If I hadn't suggested NGM, you'd be getting adequate sleep in your own bed."

Sheldon looked as though he were deep in thought. "Maybe it's the fact that you sleep on a water bed..." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Would you like some tea as well?"

"Yes, please," Amy replied. She sighed, leaned against the counter and folded her arms. "Do you think it means something?"

Her boyfriend tilted his head in confusion.

"Our inability to sleep," Amy explained.

"Well, in my case, I think it means that a mattress consisting primarily of water puts me in mind of being lost at sea. In your case, perhaps you miss the impression of having the ocean beneath you while you sleep," Sheldon hypothesized.

Ah, the simplicity. She already knew why she couldn't sleep and it was much more complex than the absence of a mattress. Her issue stood before her now as he began heating the kettle for both of them. She wondered if this was what things would be like if they actually had chosen to live together. She'd been perfectly willing to take Leonard's room rather than sharing a bedroom with him. That would have come as a next step in their cohabitation.

There was something so cute about seeing her boyfriend standing there in his pajamas and pouring hot water into mugs for them. As she stared at his long, slightly hunched frame, she started to get hot under the collar. What was it about this guy that got her motor running all the time? She was sure that her writing would help with this longing. Perhaps it really was just making it worse. And then she'd relieved some of her stress during yet another shower not even a few hours ago. _Nothing_ seemed to be working.

Amy watched Sheldon as he carefully set her tea down in front of her. She gazed upon his hand as he bobbed his teabag up and down in the steaming liquid. Without taking her eyes off that hand, she mimicked his movements, wondering why there was such a prolonged silence between them.

When she finally looked up at the physicist, she discovered that he was looking at her. She wanted to say something, but she felt as though she'd been paralyzed under his gaze.

Instead, he spoke. "Maybe we could watch a little more Star Trek and just take a nap later in the day."

Something about that statement startled her and she nearly leapt right out of her nightgown. "O...kay," she finally answered. She turned and headed toward the couch, practically feeling Sheldon's presence as he followed her.

They both took their respective seats on the couch and set their mugs on the coffee table at the same time.

"Um, the last thing I remember was a little glowing inorganic life form," Amy told him.

Sheldon nodded. "Ah, Episode 17: Home Soil. Well, I made it to Episode 18: Coming of Age, but we can start back at the last one you remember." He grabbed the remote and started the show.

As soon as Sheldon put down the remote, Amy picked it up and paused the disc. After pondering what happened last night, she looked at him, confused. "You fell asleep _after_ me?"

"Yes."

(So, then, it's possible that he was aware that I took his hand and that I leaned against him,) Amy thought. (And he didn't try to get away. Strange. Maybe I can add something like this to one of my stories.)

"Amy?" Sheldon said, trying to get her attention. "May we?" He gestured toward the TV.

"Oh, of course," Amy replied, starting the player once again.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: It seems Sheldon's getting more and more OOC as this thing goes on... What do you think? Please review.


	6. Madness to the Method

a/n: Again, thanks for the reviews, favorites and alerts. So much feedback really does motivate and inspire. I won't jabber here though. I'll save that for the end because I'll need some opinions on something.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 6: Madness to the Method**_

The two had ended up underneath that same throw they'd used last night to keep warm even though it wasn't cold at all and the sun had started coming up. They'd finished their tea long ago and had even had cereal for breakfast. But three episodes later and Amy was starting to get drowsy again. As soon as she started to nod off, she felt a hand gently plant itself atop hers.

When she jolted upright, she looked over and saw a wide-eyed Sheldon, who'd jerked his hand away quickly.

"Sheldon?"

Sheldon looked down at the coffee table. "I can explain..."

Amy waited for his explanation, but he was obviously having trouble forming the words. "And last night? Was that you too?"

Her boyfriend quickly bobbed his head a few times.

"You let me believe that I'd broken the rules of our agreement when it was actually you?" Amy asked.

Sheldon looked back at her. "Not necessarily. While there's no required physical contact in the Next Generation Madness Agreement, the Relationship Agreement still states that physical contact is required."

It was like he'd completely blown her mind. It was true that he hadn't updated their Relationship Agreement, but she was sure that their spoken agreement implied that there would no longer be any more required physical contact whatsoever. At least until he put it all in writing. She wanted to say that, but when she looked at him, he was staring at the coffee table again.

"And it's not like it was ever stated that there was no physical contact _allowed_. Just that there was none _required_," Sheldon explained further.

True...

"I found a loophole," Sheldon went on, still staring at the table.

"But you only find loopholes when you want to exploit the contract in _your_ favor," Amy murmured, almost to herself. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Did he _want_ to hold her hand?

"My apologies. I shouldn't have done it," Sheldon said.

"_Why_ did you do it? That's what I'm trying to understand," Amy told him.

"Well," Sheldon began, sounding a lot like a child who'd gotten in trouble for playing in mud. "As you know, I was never interested in intimacy. And when you suggested that we exclude intimacy from relationship, I thought that it would make things better between us..."

Another extended silence passed between them.

Amy sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Sheldon, please help me understand what is going on here."

It was then Sheldon's turn to sigh. "Amy..." He finally looked at her again. "When you gave up on the idea of intimacy between us, I was reminded of a very crucial point in our relationship. An era during which our relationship was not clearly defined. Your dates with Stuart."

"Come on, Sheldon. There's a huge difference. You're my boyfriend now. I'm not gonna cheat on you with some other guy."

"Let me finish. During that time, it seemed that I didn't know what I wanted until it was taken away," Sheldon went on. He paused for a long time, still looking at her.

Amy thought about that last statement. "And now that intimacy is no longer required, you_**—**_"

"I'm not saying that we should have coitus today or this month or even this year," Sheldon interrupted. "It's just that when we were sitting close together, I thought I should hold your hand..." His eyes drifted to his hands on his lap. "I sound like a hippy. What have you done to me?"

Amy grinned. "What have you done to yourself? You were the one groping me while I was sleeping." She bumped him with her shoulder, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. The last thing she wanted was for him to be uncomfortable.

She supposed he was feeling playful because he bumped her back with his shoulder. Then he looked at her and grinned a silly little grin.

Nothing had really been resolved though. He was holding her hand while she slept. Was this something that should continue? If it did continue, it would only reignite the flame within her, causing more undue frustration on her part. But now that she knew he was interested, how could she deny him?

She was reminded of a conversation she had with Sheldon's mother during one of her visits:

—

"...Now, while fornication is a sin, and a big one at that, I can't help bein' a little..._concerned_ by my son's_**—**_how should I say it?—'lack of interest' in the matter," Mary had said.

Amy had barely held back a chuckle. Talking with her boyfriend's mother about bedroom issues seemed completely inappropriate, but it wasn't as though Amy had been the one to broach the topic. "That's been a concern of mine for years. I have to admit, I hadn't even considered the act of fornication before I met your son. As a matter of fact, when we first met, the entire topic was off the table."

"What a nice girl. Well, I'm sure you've gotten advice from yer little friends on the matter, but here's a little life lesson you can take with you. Men are a lot like children. Every one of 'em. Ain't no exceptions. Tell 'em _not_ to do somethin' and that's all they wanna do..."

—

Reverse psychology. Amy had thought the idea was simplistic, obvious, manipulative. But oddly enough, it seemed to work. Once she'd told him that she didn't want any more physical contact, he was willing to go out of his way to provide it. Of course, she hadn't done it on purpose the first time, but now it really would be manipulation on her part.

After pondering her dilemma for God only knew how long, Amy realized that she'd been staring at Sheldon's lips. Damn her infernal endocrine system!

Strangely enough, Sheldon was still looking at her, though he seemed to be focused someplace besides her eyes. Was it her lips? Maybe her neck? Perhaps just the great wide open.

"I still stand by it though," Amy said slowly.

"Hm?" Sheldon asked, his attention finally returning to her eyes.

"It's not necessary for us to attempt intimacy," Amy elaborated. "As you always say, ours is a relationship of the mind. I just have to deal with my...'temptation' in my own way."

Sheldon looked away and nodded. "Alright."

Now, the question remained whether she told him that because she wanted _him_ to be tempted into more intimacy or whether she was being truthful. No! She wasn't trying to manipulate him..., was she? Of course not! She wasn't one of those women who went around playing mind games with men. She'd always despised women who did that. Besides, her own struggles were enough without contemplating Sheldon's continued attempts at intimacy while she slept. She would conquer her lust and she would make her boyfriend happy.

"Come on. Are you ready to snooze for a while?" Amy asked.

Sheldon shrugged. "I don't know. You startled me when you woke up. I'm in no condition to sleep." He looked at her again. "But I suppose I should let you sleep if you're tired. You can have the bed if you'd like."

Amy looked surprised. "Thank you, Sheldon..." She stood and started heading toward the bedroom. "I'll see you in about an hour."

* * *

How she would nap, she wasn't sure. Her mind was racing and she could make out his scent the moment she entered her bedroom. Even though her boyfriend bathed constantly and thoroughly, there was always a hint of something else intermingled with his usual talc that was hard to define, yet she knew it was simply the scent of him. It was masculine and beautiful and it always made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. As soon as she climbed into the bed, the scent began to overpower her senses. It wasn't particularly strong. It probably wouldn't have even been evident to the average person.

His scent always drove her mad. Some days she wished he wouldn't shower so often so she would be allowed access to more of it.

Suddenly she was enlightened with a devilish idea. Those demons of hers were working overtime today. He wouldn't be sleeping over again tonight, but during their next bout of Next Generation Madness, she would have to remember to crank up the heat in her waterbed. Yes. Then he would sweat all over her bed sheets. It would be perfect.

* * *

When Amy awoke from her power nap, she found Sheldon standing over her and she nearly screamed. "Sheldon!"

"I made grilled cheese for lunch," was all he said.

How long had he been standing there? As a matter of fact, when had she fallen asleep?

"You know, it's a little creepy when you do that," Amy informed him as she slowly sat up.

"Do what?"

"You shouldn't just stand over people while they're sleeping."

"I didn't want to wake you."

Amy looked confused. "I would prefer that you wake me rather than stand over me. How long have you been there?" She finally stood and padded toward the kitchen. Once again she could feel rather than hear Sheldon following her.

"Only a few minutes. I just got done making grilled cheese," Sheldon told her.

Her boyfriend's eccentricities shouldn't have surprised her, but now that she was spending more idle time with him, she was beginning to pick up on more of his quirky behaviors. This arrangement was proving to be quite the learning experience. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Well, thank you for making lunch," Amy said as she walked over to the plate of sandwiches. Sheldon seemed to be following her like a puppy. A smile tugged at her lips when she saw that there were smiley faces carved into the sandwiches. "Sheldon, this is so sweet."

"I thought you might be feeling uncomfortable after my unbecoming display earlier. That's 'apology grilled cheese'," Sheldon explained, gesturing toward the plate.

Amy turned toward Sheldon and even though she'd felt him behind her, the actuality of his closeness didn't become reality until she was facing him. For a moment she was breathless. And during the next moment when she caught her breath again, she realized that he had showered and dressed while she was dozing. Meaning that at some point during her nap, he'd come into her bedroom to retrieve clean clothes...

"Thank you, Sheldon," the neurobiologist said. She unconsciously reached to touch his arm, but stopped short when she saw Sheldon look down at her hand. Placing the hand on her tummy instead, she smiled up at him. "Thank you."

Sheldon was still looking at the hand that nearly touched him. "You're welcome."

Silence...

Tension that freshly sharpened knives would have trouble slicing through...

She had to do something, say something.

"So... There are families aboard the _Enterprise_. Wives and children. Now, considering the situations they get themselves into in that series, isn't that a little dangerous?" Amy asked.

Sheldon's eyes lit up like she'd never seen. "Well, the missions of the _Enterprise_ are never intended to be dangerous. Theirs is a mission of diplomacy as well as exploration, discovery, the very embodiment of science really. But since they _are_ going into the unknown, they have to expect the unexpected, hence their training, their ship's weaponry—"

"—not to mention the disconnecting saucer section," Amy continued. She nodded. "I see. I must admit, I underestimated this show. The characters are interesting. The plots are engaging. There's a good mix of drama, comedy and romance."

"You really were on the edge of your seat during some of those episodes, weren't you? That's why I'd like us to write our own space opera," Sheldon said. "I think that the two of us could write something just as good, if not better."

(If you wanna boldly go where no one has gone before, how about exploring between my legs?) Amy thought, barely stifling a laugh. "You make writing our own sound better and better." She got herself some lunch, then went toward the living room. "Come on. Let's watch the rest of the season." As she walked past him, she looked over her shoulder at him and noticed that he was once again blushing. She was sure of it this time.

* * *

It didn't take as long to finish off the series as Amy thought it would. She also didn't think that the prospect of continuing these NGM weekends would be as exciting as she now found it. And it wasn't just because she would be spending time with her boyfriend. She was actually looking forward to the adventures of the _Enterprise_ crew.

As she was driving Sheldon home, the two of them yammered about the show for a while.

"I still think that the episode where Yar and Data became intimate was one of the more interesting ones," Amy said.

"How could you say that? The point during which it was observed in the series was catastrophically misplaced. No one really knew much about the characters to even understand how out-of-character they were behaving," Sheldon said with great exasperation.

Amy frowned, her eyes flitting back and forth between the traffic lights and the road. "Well, some people find an interest in the things that closely relate to their own lives, Sheldon."

She could almost feel his expression of haughty derision. "Amy, Amy, Amy. In what way does that situation even remotely relate to your life?" he asked.

"In every way imaginable, besides occupations and the whole space thing, obviously. Yar is a woman who doesn't feel as much like a woman as she should. I am a woman who doesn't feel as much like a woman as she should. Data is her android colleague who doesn't show emotion. You are an android who doesn't show emotion," Amy said.

Sheldon chuckled and Amy glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Oh, Amy. As much as I hate to break it to you, you're completely wrong. You are obviously all woman. Natasha Yar was the chief of security, forcing her to display 'mannish' qualities from her body build to her disposition."

Amy wondered if his referring to her as "obviously all woman" was a good thing or bad thing. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Secondly, Mr. Data _wants_ to be able to experience and display human emotion," Sheldon said. "I have no such wish."

Amy rolled her eyes and stopped at a red light. She looked over at Sheldon and was confused yet again by the expression she _thought_ she saw on his face under the streetlights. He bore kind of a shy smirk. She wasn't really sure how she should interpret that.

"Well, it's a shame she had to die later in the season. I would have liked to see where things would have gone for them. That was a pretty sad episode," Amy commented.

The smirk on Sheldon's face slowly faded and it was replaced with a look of...concern?

No, that wasn't it. She needed more time to interpret all of this.

"Green," Sheldon seemed to say out of nowhere.

It took her a few seconds to realize he was referring to the traffic light. "Oh." She started driving again and for the rest of the trip they fell silent.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Now is the time for babbling. First of all, thank you to those of you who take the time to read my notes. It's obviously not required for the story. Secondly, I don't know about you, but this has been my favorite chapter to far. Don't know why.

a/n: On to the important stuff. I want to ask your opinion on something. This is, of course, the last time we'll see Amy and Sheldon together before their next weekend. I'm thinking that in that time, Amy will have completed her first "Shamy fic". It'll probably be pretty racy though. The question: Should I include her fic as a chapter in the story? If I do that, then I'll have to change the rating of this story to M. I was also thinking that I could do her fic as a companion story to this one. Not sure what to do here. Please review and tell me what you think. Or you could PM me. Thanks!


	7. Method to the Madness

a/n: Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed. And thanks to those of you who gave your opinions on my little problem. You're the greatest. It was still a difficult decision, but knowing what some of you thought really helped.

a/n: If you are interested, you can find the continuation of Amy's story in the rated M section. A PM from one kind reader had a pretty big influence on my decision and reminded me that I should take a look at what I'm trying to do with the actual story. So, thanks to everyone who participated and thanks to the soul who helped cement my decision. You know who I'm talking to.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 7: Method to the Madness**_

_Journal entry: I do not possess the strength of will that I once thought I did. Temptation has gotten the better of me. I am reduced to using the ancient art of reverse psychology to purposefully manipulate my boyfriend into wanting to be physical with me. We will have to see if this venture bears fruit._

_ I realize now that that is indeed my intent. Manipulation. It's not out of any sort of wish to better myself for his sake. It's selfishness in its rawest form._

_ My conscience, however, is clouded. Ours is a relationship based on trust and I am violating that trust yet again with my intentional attempt to sway him (the last time was faking a sickness from which I had already recovered). Then again, if he didn't want me to use this against him, he probably shouldn't have admitted to the fact that once intimacy was denied him, he was compelled to act. In a way, this is his fault._

_ Oh, my God! I sound like a rapist blaming the victim. That is not my intent. When given intel during wartime, is it not rational to use said intel to one's advantage?_

_ No matter how much I try to justify my choice to go through with this, the fact still remains that it is what it is. My lust demons planted the seed, but I will be the one tending it, nurturing it, helping it grow._

_ And sadly, I lack the fortitude to deny myself this chance._

Amy closed her journal once again and frowned at the cover. She could easily just tell him her intent, apologize and then get on with their relationship, as is. No intentional damage had been done yet.

She'd conceded to his will not that long ago. She was willing to do what needed to be done in order to satisfy what he wanted for them. And all before a week was over, she'd done an about-face. She completely turned her back on her vow all for the sake of an experiment.

Yes! That was what this was. An experiment. And sometimes in science, while ethics were factored in, personal moral standing had little to no bearing. While this perspective didn't completely clear her conscience, she did feel a little better about it.

And why shouldn't she? She deserved to be happy just like anyone else.

* * *

Girl's night. A time shared between friends. A time to catch up on the events of the week.

The three girls were in Penny's apartment at her little kitchen island. Bernadette was patiently waiting for Amy to talk about the weekend with Sheldon she'd mentioned in a text earlier during the week.

Penny, on the other hand, was not so patient. She pulled out a bottle of wine and handed it to Bernadette. "Alright, Ames. I've waited long enough. Details."

Amy had been in dreamland since the moment she got there. She knew her man was right across the hall and she hadn't seen him since Sunday. He hadn't even stopped by her lab to have lunch with her. Then again, they did have two whole days and two whole nights in each other's presence. They had even agreed to postpone their date nights for the duration of Next Generation Madness. Amy just felt like she still wasn't spending enough time with him. But there she was being all needy again. She didn't want to crowd him, but she was sure they would at least have lunch together sometimes. Was he avoiding her? Had she done something wrong...?

"Earth to Amy," Penny sang.

The neurobiologist had over the past week been making a conscious effort to distract herself and had finally decided what to do with her little fantasy story. She had finished it, but she wasn't particularly impressed by it. Besides, she still felt a certain longing to sleep with her boyfriend, so maybe her feelings toward the story were what left her unsatisfied. She planned to start a new one pretty soon. She'd also been killing time by learning another song on the harp. It was a sweet little ditty she'd heard while shopping for new orthopedic shoes...

"AMY!" both Bernadette and Penny shouted, hoping to finally get her attention.

It worked. Amy blinked back into reality and looked at the two ladies. "What?"

"Talk," Penny demanded. "You've gotta tell us about your weekend with Dr. Fussyface."

Bernadette giggled. "That was a good one," she said to Penny. "It describes him perfectly."

"I know. Right?" Penny said.

Amy wasn't particularly amused by that nickname and she cleared her throat. "Do you wanna hear about my weekend or not?" she asked almost angrily.

"Of course we do, Amy. Please tell us all about it," Bernadette said sweetly as she poured the wine and started handing out glasses.

"Well," Amy began after she took a sip of her wine. "I decided before date night that I'd had enough_**—**_"

"Oh my God! You broke up with him?" Bernadette asked. "Well, I guess it was gonna happen sooner or later. What are we sitting around here for? We need to hit the town and find a guy to mend your broken heart."

Amy narrowed her eyes at Bernadette. "We didn't break up."

"Oh, good. I've always thought you two were meant to be," Bernadette tried to recover, taking a big gulp of her wine.

Penny laughed a little. "Come on, Bernadette. Let's just listen to the rest of the story."

Bernadette nodded and kept gulping down her wine.

"Like I was saying," Amy began again, "I decided before date night that I'd had enough. While we seemed to be moving slowly in that direction, there was never any guarantee that we'd ever be intimate. I thought that we should just forget about it."

Penny frowned. "Forget about _sex_?"

Bernadette raised her eyebrows and only quietly refilled her glass.

"Yes. No need for any intimacy whatsoever. No holding hands, none of it. So on date night when I told him, he thought it was a good idea," Amy said. "I suggested Next Generation Madness_**—**_where we would spend the entire weekend at my apartment to watch a full season of Star Trek: The Next Generation."

"Booooooriiiiiiiing," Penny said.

"You know, it's been surprisingly interesting so far, though I haven't gotten to that part of the story yet," Amy said, narrowing her eyes at Penny.

"Oh," Penny said, taking a big gulp of her own wine.

Amy shook her head, but went on with her story. "The next day Sheldon came over with our Next Generation Madness Agreement—reminiscent of the Relationship Agreement—and it had all these allowances for hand holding and even cuddling."

"Oooooooooo," Bernadette sing-songed.

"That's great, Ames!" Penny said.

"Actually, it's not. He doesn't understand that all of that stuff just adds to the temptation of intercourse for me. And if it's not gonna happen then I'm just torturing myself. So I told him to remove it from the agreement altogether," Amy said.

Penny looked confused. "I don't know, Amy. It sounds like he was trying to get closer to you. He has that photographic memor_**—**_"

"_Eidetic_ memory," both Amy and Bernadette chimed in.

"What-_ever_," Penny said. "Anyway, it's not like he forgot that you told him that. Maybe that agreement was his way of saying that he didn't want those things to end."

"Yeah, Amy. Just because he's taking things slow doesn't mean he doesn't want them to happen at all," Bernadette said. "In a way it's kinda sweet."

Amy frowned. "I know," she whined. "Which brings me to the next topic. He took all those things out of the agreement, but then one night we were seeing how long we could stay up and watch episodes. I woke up and we were holding hands." She held up her hand to stop them from interrupting her. "I thought I'd done it in my sleep, but then the next day while I was drifting in and out of sleep, I actually caught him putting his hand on mine."

"Awwwww, that's so sweet," Bernadette said.

"Hold on. He waited until you were sleeping?" Penny asked.

Bernadette looked at Penny, surprised. "That's a good question." She looked back at Amy. "That's practically rape."

Amy stopped in mid thought and imagined a scenario where Sheldon might be forced to rape her. Now that would make for a good fantasy. She had to literally shake off the thought. "Anyway, we talked about it. He compared my taking away our intimacy to the time I was dating Stuart."

"Wow!" Penny exclaimed. "You two took a pretty big step when you were dating Stuart." She gasped and her eyes got wide. "Did you and Sheldon have sex?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "No. I told him we were still keeping intimacy off the table."

Both Bernadette and Penny were dumbfounded.

"Are you nuts!?" Bernadette asked louder than she should have.

"That was your chance! What were you thinking?" Penny asked.

Amy smirked. "I was _thinking_ that whenever I want to be intimate with him, he doesn't want to. And whenever I tell him no, he's suddenly interested."

Her two friends were dumbfounded again.

"Reverse psychology," Bernadette said.

"Oh my God! Amy, that's fiendish!" Penny almost squealed.

"Shhh! The boys are right across the hall. Now, you can't tell anyone about this. I actually didn't know I was doing it at first and now I'm doing it on purpose. I've battled with the morality of this little scheme all week and I'm still not too comfortable about it," Amy told them.

"Our lips are sealed," Penny said. "But it sounds like that seriously might work. You've already got evidence that it does."

"Seems like I should be a little more disturbed by this than I am. But I'm happy for you. Maybe you two were meant to be after all," Bernadette told her friend. "But what's this about Star Trek being 'surprisingly interesting'?"

* * *

Amy had once again arrived at the end of vintage video game night and she regretted the timing. There was an argument in progress and she simply stood outside the door for a moment, listening.

"That's why they call it a _strategy_ game. It's not difficult just for the sake of being difficult. It's difficult because the player lacks the strategy necessary to succeed," Sheldon could be heard saying.

"Then why did you have such a hard time with Ninja Gaiden a few weeks ago?" Howard asked.

"That's different. Ninja Gaiden is an action-adventure/platform game and is difficult by design. X-Com: UFO Defense is a turn-based strategy game and is difficult because you're stupid and won't listen to me," Sheldon explained.

Amy giggled and shook her head. Sheldon had a way of speaking to people that was a little more frank than they might prefer. Sometimes it was cute. Other times it made people angry. So before Howard could get angry, Amy knocked on the door.

This time it was Raj who answered.

"Hello, Rajesh," Amy greeted.

"Hi, Amy. Please come in," Raj offered.

The moment Amy stepped into the apartment, the arguing came to an abrupt halt.

"Oh, hi, Amy," Howard said from his seat on the couch.

Leonard waved from the kitchen.

She gave them both a smile and a nod, then waited for her greeting from Sheldon. She frowned when it wasn't immediate, so she decided she'd speak instead. "Hello, Sheldon."

The lanky physicist hung his head and busied himself with studying his fingernails. "Hello, Amy," he greeted quietly.

That came as a surprise and everything in the apartment was suddenly deafeningly silent. She wondered what the deal was. Had she done something wrong? Or maybe he'd figured out what she was up to with her reverse psychology plan. She tried to get some sort of clue from the expressions of the other guys around the room, but they were all just looking at Sheldon.

"Um, are you ready to go?" Amy finally asked.

"Excuse me for just a moment. I have to talk to Leonard," Sheldon said.

Leonard raised his eyebrows. "You do?"

"Yes," the taller man replied. "In your room." He started heading toward Leonard's bedroom and Leonard shrugged and followed him.

"What's going on?" Howard asked Amy.

Amy simply shrugged.

"Well, he was fine before you got here, so I'm assuming it has something to do with you," Howard stated.

Amy frowned.

"Howard! That was rude of you," Raj chastened.

"What? I'm just stating an observation," Howard said. "I didn't say it was a bad thing."

Raj thought for a moment and then nodded. "True." He turned his attention to Amy. "What did you do to him?"

Amy was stunned by the question. "Me? I didn't do anything." She tilted her head to the side and frowned again. Had she done something to him? This whole bit was making her nervous. "I haven't even seen him since last weekend."

"Couldn't be that. He told us he had a great time last weekend," Raj assured. He looked at Amy with a smile. "He even told us that you were considering collaborating on a sci-fi epic with him."

"I won't lie. I was a little jealous when I heard that," Howard said. "Bernie would never agree to something like that."

Amy looked confused. While that was exactly what Sheldon had said about the whole thing, she wondered why that seemed to be the focal point of their conversation. Lots of other things happened during the weekend, yet that was what he brought up?

"Then again, when he was talking about it, he did display some pretty un-Sheldon-like behavior," Howard went on. "I can't really explain it. It was just...weird."

"You know, I was getting some pretty un-Sheldon-like behavior all weekend. I wonder what's going on with him lately," Amy murmured to herself.

Raj shook his head at them. "What's wrong with you two? Did it ever occur to you that he might actually be happy?"

"No, I've seen 'Happy Sheldon' before. This isn't it," Howard replied.

"Not a generic kind of happy. I mean that maybe he's _romantically_ happy," Raj explained.

Amy thought for a moment. "Yeah, no. I don't think that's it."

"That's because none of us has ever seen it before," Raj said.

"You're such a romantic, Rajesh. If no one's ever seen it, then it's still just a theory," Amy told him. "I won't make any assumptions until I've studied this further."

Howard and Raj looked at Amy strangely.

"I doubt it's because you two hang out all the time, but that sounded exactly like something Sheldon would say," Howard pointed out.

"How about this? We could work together. We'll keep our eyes peeled on this end, but you have to tell us about what happens on your end. Got it?" Raj requested.

Amy frowned. "I don't know. I feel like that might be betraying the sanctity of our relationship."

One of Amy's lust demons butted in, _(Like you're not _already_ betraying the sanctity of your relationship with your reverse psychology.)_

Amy's frown became more grave.

It was then Raj's turn to frown. "Oh, come on. If we were the girls, you'd agree."

"I have an even better idea. We could just milk Leonard for the info," Howard suggested. "He's probably in there talking to him about it now."

"Great! And we can text you the details later," Raj said to Amy.

"I don't know. I feel like that might be betraying the sanctity of their friendship," Amy practically repeated.

Leonard came back, pushing Sheldon down their little hall. "Now go," the shorter scientist ordered.

Sheldon, who was putting up some resistance before, began walking on his own. And just as though nothing had happened, he hoisted his bags up on his shoulders and headed toward the door. "Come along, Amy."

Amy watched him walk past her, then looked at the other guys. "Let's do it." After she received nods from Raj and Howard, she followed Sheldon out the door.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Gasp! Amy's a villain?

a/n: Thanks for reading. This chapter could completely change the flow of whole this story. Good? Bad? Please let me know what you think.


	8. Madness Returns

a/n: Thanks again for the reviews, alerts and favorites. You folks are too kind. But I won't waste your time with a lot of pre-story gibberish this time. Let's just get to it.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 8: Madness Returns**_

She couldn't get anything out of him on their ride to her apartment. She'd never really known Sheldon to give such short, undetailed answers to questions she posed.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Amy asked as she opened the door to her apartment and let Sheldon in.

Sheldon was hugging his messenger bag and overnight bag straps tightly to his chest. "I'm fine."

"You know, if you're not comfortable spending so much time here, we could just make it a one day affair instead."

Sheldon shook his head. "No, it's fine," he assured her, still clinging to his straps.

There were those short, undetailed answers she'd been getting all night. "Is it?"

"Yes. Next Generation Madness is the new highlight of my week."

She was relieved to hear a sentence from him that was more than three words. "Good. Because I was under the impression that you might not want to do it anymore," she said as she followed Sheldon into her bedroom.

After placing his overnight bag on the chair, he quickly spinned to face her. "What gave you that impression?"

Amy played at the sleeve of her cardigan. "Well, it looked like Leonard had to force you to come with me. The last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable."

"Oh, you're right," Sheldon sighed in resignation, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "He did have to force me to come."

A panic gripped Amy. Was he breaking up with her? No, she couldn't jump to conclusions. She should just listen to what he had to say. Unfortunately, he was taking a very long time to say whatever it was he had to say and that was making her nervous...

Why wasn't he saying anything? (Oh, no. He really _is_ leaving me. What am I gonna do? I've been so selfish lately that he wants out of this relationship,) Amy thought.

A few more moments passed and Sheldon sighed again. "I haven't completed the revisions for the Relationship Agreement," he all but muttered, staring at the floor. "I did, however, make the appropriate changes to the Next Generation Madness Agreement."

Was that all? She thought she was in big trouble. "Oh? Well, that's fine. There'll be plenty of time to make the changes to the Relationship Agreement, right?"

Her boyfriend nodded, still staring at the floor.

Amy walked closer to Sheldon and was about to put her hand on his shoulder, but stopped short. She had to remind herself that it was ixnay on the touching. "Hey, it's gonna be okay. You don't have to be so devastated by something so small. I'm okay with it, so you should be too. Now, come on. Let's sign the NGM Agreement. There's time to watch a few episodes of season 2."

It did strike her as odd, however, that he would leave something incomplete, especially with his compulsive tendencies. This wasn't like leaving a dish undried or only half eating a meal. He actually enjoyed "mutual indemnification"—his words—and that contract held the whole of allowances and disallowances in their relationship. Perhaps she had underestimated the amount of thought, time and effort that went into those revisions.

They both fell silent as they took a seat on the bed and Sheldon pulled out the contract. Amy took a few moments to scan through it, making sure that there was no more mention of physical activities therein. There were, however, demands for more sweet snacks during viewing.

She smiled at her boyfriend. "I don't keep a lot of sweets in the apartment. We'll have to go shopping at some point so you can pick out what snacks you'd like."

"Agreed."

After they both signed the contract, Amy could see that the whole Relationship Agreement thing was still bothering him. "Can I get you a beverage? Some tea, perhaps? Would that make you feel better?" Amy asked.

Sheldon nodded again. "Yes, thank you." He finally looked at her before exiting the room.

(What was that all about?) Amy asked herself as she, too, made her exit.

She was sure that Sheldon would want to have a seat on the couch and relax while she made tea, but there he was standing at her kitchen counter, patiently waiting for her to begin making the tea.

"How's work?" she finally asked, filling the kettle with water.

"Stressful. Not only has my level of concentration seemed to diminish, but Kripke has taken to making daily appearances in my office to flaunt his recent success in my face," Sheldon told her. "It's not like it's a big deal. Who _hasn't_ written an article for _Physics Today_?"

Ah, she was glad that he was talking again, though she had to wonder about his diminishing concentration. After putting on the kettle, she turned and watched him absent-mindedly finger her pepper shaker as he kept babbling about his misadventures at work. They were all just minor annoyances really, but she stood and listened and watched him play with the shaker. His fingers mesmerized her as he gently stroked the little container. She wished she could be that little container. She wondered how that feather-light touch might feel against her skin.

"—the last lime Jello. Of all the people in all the world, why did it have to be Kripke who got the last one? I was much more deserving of it," Sheldon kept rambling.

Both she and the tea kettle were in similar situations as she watched his hand caress that pepper shaker. Thankfully she didn't emit a whistling sound the hotter she got. No, the sound she emitted instead was an involuntary, "Hoo."

Sheldon looked confused. "_Me_. _I_ deserved that Jello more than he did," he answered as though she'd posed a question.

Amy nodded. "A crime against humanity. Please excuse me. Could you finish the tea for me? I have to...brush my teeth. It may take a while." She didn't wait for an answer before rushing off to the bathroom.

* * *

...some time later...

Amy hung her head in shame as she stood in the bathroom washing up. She'd brought herself to completion not once, but _twice_. In all her years of self-gratification, she'd never known herself to be a person for multiple orgasms and had never felt the need to attempt a second. Today was different for some reason and it had happened entirely by accident. (Must investigate further), she thought.

After trying to straighten up her clothes, Amy finally came out of the bathroom to find Sheldon still standing at her kitchen counter, attending their tea. Had she gotten herself off that fast?

She watched Sheldon gesture toward her mug and then he picked up his own and made his way to the couch. He was quiet again and she didn't like that, but she followed suit anyway.

Before starting the DVD, Amy looked at Sheldon and sighed. She was about to say something, but he interrupted her.

"You smell of neither toothpaste nor mouthwash," he pointed out, staring into his teacup.

Now what should she do? It wasn't the first time he'd made that observation after one of her alleged tooth brushings.

"And your phone was out here, so I know you didn't leave to take that text message," Sheldon went on.

Text message? She looked at her phone on the coffee table, alerting her to one missed message. She didn't dare look at it now though.

"Yet I could hear your toothbrush and...some other sounds," Sheldon continued.

Did he hear her in there? She knew the toothbrush made kind of a racket, but she didn't think that she'd made very much noise at all. His Vulcan hearing let nothing slip past those ears. So what were her options? She could lie, but what lie could she concoct that he would believe? She wasn't that good of a liar either. Her only other option was to hide in plain sight.

Amy took a long sip from her tea. (Here we go,) she thought. "I was masturbating."

Sheldon continued to stare at his tea. "I see."

That wasn't a response she'd expected. Maybe he didn't hear what she said. Or maybe he misunderstood. Hiding in plain sight just might work after all. She raised her eyebrows and held up the remote to turn on the DVD player, but was halted by a hand briefly touching hers, followed by a quiet "Wait". That simple touch sent a shiver down her spine, but she tried not to show it and when she turned to him, he finally let his eyes meet hers.

"Would you like to learn the Vulcan ritual of Kolinahr?" Sheldon asked.

Amy was still a little startled after Sheldon touched her, so her response wasn't immediate. She just looked at him, wondering whether he was aware of what he'd just done. That did, however, answer the question as to whether he'd heard and understood what she told him she was doing in the bathroom.

"No. Thank you," she finally answered.

"Are you sure? Because engaging in self-abuse while you have a house guest seems inappropriate," Sheldon said slowly and quietly.

Embarrassment on the discussion of such a topic _should_ have been Amy's first response, but now that he was pointing out that particular fact, her entire face began to burn with shame. She quickly turned her attention to her own tea. "Oh, Sheldon. You're right. I can't believe I did something like that while you were right out there in the kitchen. It was _incredibly_ inappropriate and I apologize."

Her boyfriend nodded slowly. "I forgive you."

And then silence. Oh, how she hoped he wasn't still looking at her. Without thinking, she stole a glance at Sheldon and he _wasn't_ looking at her anymore. Was he looking at the remote?

"Are you going to respond to your text message?" he finally asked. "You really shouldn't leave it unanswered. It could be important."

He was looking at her phone?

"If you'll excuse me, I have to void my bladder. That will give you some privacy with which to answer your text," Sheldon told her.

As Sheldon left the room, Amy frowned at her phone. It was probably just the girls wanting to know how the weekend was going so far.

_[Leonard told us what happened. Sheldon told him that he hadn't finished some relationship contract he had with you. Something about it being on purpose, but he didn't go into details with Leonard. We had no idea what he was talking about, so we hope you can make sense of it. Toodles! Raj...and Howard.]_

She'd forgotten that they were doing some snooping around for her. But what did it mean? Sheldon had purposefully left the Relationship Agreement incomplete. Should she be concerned? Nervous? Happy? After pondering the implications for a moment, she couldn't come up with an answer. This was Sheldon they were talking about. His bizarre reasoning was hard to fathom even for her sometimes.

_[Thanks guys. I'll have to look into it,]_ she texted back as Sheldon was returning from the bathroom.

"Now, are we ready to begin?" Sheldon asked, taking his seat on the couch again.

Amy nodded and smiled. "I've been waiting all week for this."

Her boyfriend quickly turned to her with a surprised look on his face. "R-really?"

"Yes. At first I thought it was just dopey and ridiculous, but I've found that it's actually exciting and clever."

Sheldon looked at her for a long time and Amy wasn't sure what to think. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but he simply smiled and picked up the remote.

Normally, they would both be in bed by now, resting up for their next day of Next Generation Madness. Strangely enough, though, they were both still awake by the time the fourth episode of season two ended. The two hadn't said much, but it was obvious that they were passing glances back and forth in the dim lighting of Amy's living room.

Once again, they were sharing her little throw in the dark and while she was sitting pretty close to him, she made sure that she didn't touch him in any way. There was, however, a heat radiating from his body that was hard to ignore. Her mind was swimming in lust and she wanted him so badly that she could taste it. Maybe she needed to write more in order for her fantasy writing to be an effective distraction because so far, it wasn't working at all.

Amy finally sat up and stopped the DVD. "Alright, we really should get to bed. It's getting late."

"Awwww," Sheldon groaned.

"No 'aw'. Get moving, Mister. You don't want to oversleep and miss tomorrow's episode of Dr. Who, do you?"

Her boyfriend nodded. "You're right. Goodnight, Amy."

She watched him stand and slowly begin his journey toward her bedroom. "Goodnight, Sheldon."

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: I think we all know why Sheldon didn't finish revising the Relationship Agreement. Amy may be smart, but she has no clue when it comes to romance. Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter of Concession.

a/n: Amy engages in self-gratification a lot. Any thoughts?


	9. A Mad and Faithful Telling

a/n: Scattered chapter ahead. It's not one of my personal favorites. But alas, here it is.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 9: A Mad and Faithful Telling**_

Surprisingly, Amy had a restful, albeit short, night's sleep. She was sure that between her lust and her guilt of using reverse psychology against her boyfriend, she would have been tossing and turning all night. Even thoughts of her lecherous pre-Madness masturbation weren't enough to stir her from her slumber. And even though she knew that for some reason Sheldon had purposefully left their Relationship Agreement untouched, she still had a great night's sleep. Perhaps her ability to sleep regardless of those things was a sign that she was heading in the right direction. A yawn and a stretch later, she opened her eyes to find Sheldon standing over her with his bowl of cereal.

Amy sighed and simply looked up at him for a moment.

"It's almost time for Dr. Who," Sheldon informed her.

She should be used to his quirky behavior by now. This _was_ their second weekend together, after all. "Good morning, Sheldon," she greeted as she sat up to make his spot on her couch available.

"Good morning, Amy."

"Did you sleep well?"

Sheldon sighed after he took his seat. "No. It was a tad too warm for a comfortable night's sleep."

Ah, this was perfect. Her plan to increase the temperature of her waterbed had to have sweat out more of his scent onto her sheets. "Oh, I'm sorry. I've been cold lately and I must have left the thermostat up too high. I'll have to remember to dial it back down to a more comfortable temperature." She should have been ashamed. She wasn't much of a liar, but lying was becoming easier when it came to certain topics.

"Thank you."

Amy stood and folded her bedding. "Now, you should get to your Dr. Who while I take care of my morning ablutions. I'll be back in time for the continuation of Next Generation Madness."

The physicist turned on the television, found the proper channel and went about enjoying his breakfast.

Deja vu. This was a brand new day, so she shouldn't feel as though this had all happened before. But then again, with her boyfriend's desperate need to follow a routine, it was no wonder things started to feel like they were happening more than once.

There was, however, one thing that hadn't happened before. Her bed had been soaked in her boyfriend's sweat. She closed and locked her bedroom door, then slid underneath the neatly made covers of her bed. Yes, she could smell that intoxicating scent that was unique to her man. It was so much stronger than last week and it filled her mind with images of him.

Once she realized that one of her hands was moving dangerously high up her thigh, she bolted out of the bed, reset the temperature and made it up again. That was too close. She didn't have time to engage in that kind of self-indulgence right now. She was on a very tight schedule.

* * *

Following the fastest shower of her life and thorough attention to dental hygiene—neither she nor her boyfriend would settle for less—Amy emerged and poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Dr. Who ended five minutes ago. We're behind schedule." Sheldon didn't hesitate to look at her sternly and scold her.

Amy frowned. "I'm sorry."

Sheldon's expression softened. "Oh, don't look like that. I forgive you. Just don't let it happen again."

Normally such a blatant disregard for punctuality would have ended in at least a strike warning. Perhaps he was feeling generous today.

"Now hurry along with that cereal. We've got shopping to do," Sheldon told her.

(Shopping...? Oh! Sheldon's sweets,) Amy recalled. She nodded to him and started eating.

There was something adorable about the fact that her boyfriend liked sweet things so much. Was it the fact that it made him seem even more like a kid? A tall, pale, extremely intelligent praying mantis of a kid. (Okay, Amy Farrah Fowler. You rolled off of the horny side of the sofa today. Calm down,) she said to herself. (Besides, the less interested you seem to be in intimacy, the more interested he becomes. Stick to the experiment.)

She busied herself with finishing off her cereal and watched Sheldon watch her. Their eyes met for little more than a moment before he turned away to grab a bottle of water from her fridge.

* * *

...shopping...

"You and Data do have a lot in common," Amy told him as she pushed the cart through the grocery store. "You're both intelligent, analytical, well-organized. I'll bet his positronic brain and your brain function in similar ways."

Sheldon, who had been walking beside her, suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at her for a while. "Thank you. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Amy stopped walking as well and looked at him strangely. "Really? Your friends have never told you that?"

"They have, but it's usually to mock me," her boyfriend told her.

"Well, that's not very nice. Especially when you two are similar in so many fantastic and fascinating ways," Amy said as she went back to pushing the cart through the store.

Sheldon started walking beside her again and gave her a small smirk. "There's that mutual admiration that skews in my favor. What are you trying to do? Rack up points in the 'Good Girlfriend Log'?"

"...Do you _have_ one of those?"

"No."

Amy rolled her eyes and stopped in the cookie section to grab Nutter Butters and Snickerdoodles.

After examining the items she placed in the cart, Sheldon smiled down at her. "You spoil me."

Was he only _now_ realizing that? She smiled up at him. (This could be considered an intimate moment in a public place,) she told herself.

And then, to add more spice to the moment, Sheldon briefly grabbed her arm to pull her in the direction of the candy. "Don't forget the Red Vines."

* * *

...back at the apartment...

So many sweets. While it was cute when her boyfriend gobbled up sugar-laden goodies, she would be tempted by the leftovers in his absence.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that this was a bad idea," Amy said as they unpacked their cargo into her kitchen cabinets.

"What?" Sheldon asked.

The origin of his voice startled her. After her ability to feel his presence near her during the past weekend, she had no clue that Sheldon was currently standing right behind her, reaching into a cabinet directly above her. She knew her boyfriend and normally he wouldn't ever do something so dangerous. His closeness was enough to make her lose her train of thought entirely. Speechless, she stood beneath him, daring not to move until he was done.

After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Sheldon went on to another bag and Amy took that moment to let out a breath she had no idea she was holding.

"What do you think was a bad idea?" Sheldon asked.

She'd forgotten that she even said anything. "Oh. Well, I don't know if I should have so many sweets in the apartment. I've been trying to watch what I eat. Maybe slim down."

Her boyfriend furrowed his brow and finally took his attention away from the bag he'd been pillaging. "'Slim down'?"

"I thought I might feel more attractive if I slimmed down a little," Amy told him, staring at an empty bag.

"Did you just say '_more_ attractive'?"

Amy looked at Sheldon and saw him quietly chuckle and shake his head. What did he mean by that? Was he trying to say that she wasn't attractive at all and so to become _more_ of something she is _not_ is a feat impossible?

Before she knew it, she was fuming and she'd cleared the short distance between them in a single bound. Her sudden movement caused Sheldon to back into a corner and he looked at her with wide, confused eyes. Deer caught in the headlights or not, she'd never been so furious with him. She grabbed one of the packages of Red Vines and poked him firmly in the chest with it.

"How dare you insult me like that?" she asked, trying not to let her voice carry too much.

Sheldon looked even more surprised. "Insult you?"

"You just asked me if I said '_more_ attractive'," Amy said.

"Oh, please, Amy. I have an eidetic memory. I know what I just asked," Sheldon reminded her, slowly regaining his composure. "How was that an insult?"

Tears threatened the backs of Amy's eyes and she took a deep, but shaky breath. "Go ahead and say it straight out. I can't be _more_ of something I'm _not_."

"You can't possibly think that's what I meant."

"I can't possibly _know_ what you mean when you use _Sheldon-speak_. If that wasn't your meaning, then what _did_ you mean?"

"Um...," Sheldon said, looking at the package of Red Vines Amy was still holding.

His hesitation was not reassuring. So, rather than stand there waiting for an answer she most likely didn't want to hear, she tossed the Red Vines onto the counter and turned to go back into the living room.

To her amazement, however, Sheldon stopped her by briefly touching her arm and murmuring, "Wait."

Amy turned her attention to him but didn't say anything.

Sheldon stared at the package of Red Vines on the counter as he spoke. "Attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder. I wonder to whose standards of attractiveness you wish to appeal."

She narrowed her eyes at Sheldon. She could have easily brought up the fact that _no one anywhere_ had _ever_ found her attractive, but she didn't want there to be a misunderstanding. "Yours," was the simplest answer she could give.

"How direct," Sheldon commented.

"Come on, Sheldon. You're usually so direct about everything. If you've got something to say, then say it."

Sheldon rolled his eyes and finally looked back at her. "Fine. It is impossible for you to become _more_ attractive because to me you..." He thought for a moment, seeming to be at a loss for words. "You know, you're the only person I've ever..." He sighed.

Words usually came pretty easily to her boyfriend, but expressing feelings didn't.

"Physical appeal and _overall_ attractiveness are two very different things," Sheldon went on. "While _overall_ attractiveness includes physical appeal, it's not necessarily so the other way around. Someone who is only physically appealing can still be unattractive and usually is..."

(He's going nowhere _fast_. Poor thing. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so upset with him. Maybe he really didn't mean anything bad by it. He probably wouldn't want me as his girlfriend otherwise. He _was_ the one who asked me to be his girlfriend after all,) Amy thought. She smiled up at him as he continued awkwardly stumbling his way through an explanation.

Sheldon finally stopped flapping his gums, absent direction, and looked at Amy, surprised to see her current expression. "Were you just 'yanking my chain', so to speak?"

"No, I really was upset. But not anymore," Amy told him. She finished putting away the last of the snacks and then headed toward the living room. "Come on. Let's get back to the show."

"Wow. My dad was right. No matter how smart you are, you'll never understand the women-folk," she heard Sheldon say to himself.

* * *

The two had decided that sharing her throw would be their comfy little way of viewing episodes, even though it wasn't included in the Next Generation Madness Agreement. Then again, they weren't in physical contact with each other, so that part was no big deal.

What was a big deal was the fact that less than two episodes in, Sheldon slowly reached over and took her hand. And this time he was fully aware that she wasn't sleeping because he was looking right at her when her confused eyes turned toward him.

Amy knew this was exactly what she wanted—her boyfriend initiating a little physical contact—yet she was still overwhelmed. (Especially by the fact that it's happening in broad daylight while I'm awake,) she thought. A blush burned her cheeks as she looked into his eyes. "Sheldon...," was all she could say.

"Relationship Agreement," was all he had to say in return, his expression serious.

She'd wanted to speak, but instead she heard herself make a little sound she hadn't intended to make. It wasn't her usual owl sound so it was hard to describe. However, she did notice that as she was staring into her boyfriend's eyes, his pupils almost immediately dilated.

So, instead of attempting to speak again, she simply entwined their fingers and went back to watching the show.

Her mind most definitely was not on the images on the screen. No, it was on her most recent experiment. It was working, even though he had the Relationship Agreement to hide behind. She frowned to herself. (Had he purposefully left the agreement unamended as an excuse to have intimate moments with me? Well, why didn't he just say he didn't want them taken out of the agreement?) Amy wondered. (Then again, he did say that he didn't realize what he wanted until it was taken away. Why doesn't he just talk to me? Tell me that he'd rather not have those things removed?)

One of her demons crept forward and whispered, (_Why don't you just tell him you're manipulating him with reverse psychology and that you'd rather have those things put back into the contract yourself?)_

Amy narrowed her eyes at the thought. (Good point...)

She was always under the impression that their relationship was pretty stable and that they talked things out better than most couples. Perhaps she was wrong.

* * *

...many hours and a couple of meals later...

While the half-Betazoid Deanna Troi did have some issues when it came to her abilities, being an empath seemed to have its advantages. If Amy had that kind of ability, she could simply know what her boyfriend was feeling at any given time. Then again, if she understood Deanna's empathic powers right, she wouldn't really be able to do that either. Troi had a hard time feeling things from someone she had strong feelings for. So maybe being half-Betazoid didn't have the advantages she seeked.

She had to stop this. She knew her boyfriend cared for her. He just didn't show it in the ways that most men did. Hell, one of the things she liked so much about him was the unique way his mind worked. Sheldon was like no other person she'd ever met and he deserved someone who was willing to love him the way he was comfortable being loved. Forcing her ideas of what a relationship should be onto him wasn't fair. Especially when her ideas of what relationships should be came from movies and romance novels.

Then again, there wasn't really a way out of this experiment into which she'd plunged. Whether she was consciously manipulating him or not, she didn't want to be tempted by physical contact. Yet how could she turn him down during the moments he _was_ willing to provide such intimacy?

(Now that I know I'm doing what I didn't know I was doing before, I'm at a loss,) Amy thought. She frowned to herself. (Did I think that right?)

She had never known and would never again know a love like this. Being physical with him would be nice, but it wasn't the only thing they had between them. She was lucky. Some relationships only existed _because_ of their sexual aspects, but what she had with her boyfriend was so much better, so much _more_. Who cared what other people thought?

Yes, she'd said all of this before. As a matter of fact, it was only a little over a week ago that she declared she wouldn't pressure Sheldon into anything he wasn't ready for and that she would deal with her own desires in her own way. Yes, she'd turned _completely_ around and attempted to force physical contact out of him by using reverse psychology. And yes, now she regretted it, but there was really nowhere to go from here...unless she admitted her treachery to him. That was a step for which she was not ready.

After she was done ranting and raving to herself to no avail, she looked over at Sheldon, who was looking at her. She once again wondered if he might be a telepath or even an empath like Deanna Troi. How long had he been sitting there looking at her?

She couldn't take her eyes away. She simply stared into his eyes which bored back into hers.

Normally one of them would have looked away by now.

"We should go. It's laundry night," Sheldon said quietly, but he wouldn't tear his eyes away from hers just yet.

...

...

...

Oh, so much of their day had already passed and she'd barely noticed it go by.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Okay, let me have it. This chapter didn't sit well with me, so I'm sure some of you might feel the same way. I don't know if it was the little argument or the way it was written or what. Opinions? Please review.


	10. Madness Begets Madness

a/n: Amy's "lust demons" actually seem more like her conscience than actual demons, but I like having them. As a matter of fact, they were in another story of mine, accompanied by her angels. Her angels don't show up in this. Maybe they'll be along to save the day at some point. Who knows?

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 10: Madness Begets Madness**_

This time Leonard was actually at the apartment. He was sitting at his desk doing something on his computer when Amy and Sheldon came in.

"Oh, hey guys. I almost forgot about laundry night," Leonard said.

"Hello, Leonard," Amy greeted, taking a seat in her spot on the couch.

"How could you forget about laundry night? It's the same time on the same day every single week," Sheldon said, hurrying past them to his bedroom.

Amy nodded. "He has a point."

Leonard rolled his eyes and nodded. "I know. I know. I don't know _what_ I was thinking." He looked toward Sheldon's bedroom to make sure he wasn't coming out yet, then he turned his attention to Amy. "Have you talked to him yet?" he whispered.

"Talked to whom about what?" Sheldon asked as he walked back into the living room with his laundry basket. He handed Amy the laptop fan he had on top, then looked at Leonard, waiting for an answer.

That Vulcan hearing of his...

But man, was his eidetic memory ever sexy. He'd remembered her lie about her laptop being hot and was kind enough to give her the fan in advance.

"Um, Raj... About his dog," Leonard lied, looking at the ceiling.

"Oh, please. Amy's a neurobiologist, not a veterinarian," Sheldon said, walking past them. "She's our guest, Leonard. Offer her a beverage." With that he was off to pre-sort and pre-soak.

Leonard nodded and hopped to his feet. "Would you like a beverage, Amy?"

"Water, please," Amy told him. "And no, I haven't talked to him about it, yet."

"Seriously? Come on. Even you have to admit that something like that was weird," Leonard said.

"What exactly did he say?" Amy asked as Leonard handed her a bottle of water.

"Well, at first he didn't say anything. Then he started babbling about the fact that he purposefully hadn't updated your Relationship Agreement. And he asked if I thought it was right for someone to avoid updating a contract if it was to his own advantage. Then he said something about the fact that he shouldn't see you until he was done with it," Leonard told her. He shrugged and shook his head. "Any idea what he's talking about?"

To his own advantage. There it was straight from the horse's...friend's mouth. It was all premeditated and the man didn't have the common courtesy to talk to his own girlfriend about any of this.

_(Said the pot to the kettle_,) one of her demons added. She simply rolled her eyes about that particular point.

Sheldon had, however, admitted to several things recently:

—

"...I've spent the last year trying to figure out how being intimate with you would change our relationship..."

"You seemed pretty excited about that whole D&D love spell. That crossed my mind at least once... And the time I gave you a bath. And the way you were breathing and the sounds you made when I put VapoRub on your chest..."

"On rare occasions before I go to sleep and those kinds of thoughts come to mind, I have to do what comes naturally, of course. I engage in the Vulcan ritual of Kolinahr..."

"It's just that when we were sitting close together, I thought I should hold your hand..."

—

Amy couldn't stop the little blush that crept up on her cheeks. Was it _she_ who had the issues? Sheldon was saying everything that needed to be said—the "bits and pieces jigsaw puzzle" version anyway. And then there was his hand-holding, both while she was sleeping and while she was awake. The two of them really needed to talk about this more.

"It's kind of a private matter. I probably shouldn't discuss it with a third party," Amy finally told Leonard, her cheeks still tinted pink.

Leonard raised his eyebrows and then turned back to his computer. "I just wanna remind you that there's already third-party involvement."

"I'm sorry. Let me just figure some things out first," Amy said.

Leonard nodded, still looking at his computer screen. "It's okay. I probably shouldn't get myself involved. I've had Sheldon involved in too many of my relationships, so I know how irritating that can be."

"You've been very helpful, though. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be seeing him this weekend. Thank you. You're a good friend, Leonard," Amy told him with all sincerity.

"You're welcome," her boyfriend's roommate said.

He went back to whatever he was doing, so Amy decided that it was high time to begin her next attempt at writing one of her fantasies. It would be difficult with Leonard in the room, but she already knew just where she wanted this one to start.

_The origin of his voice startled her. After her ability to feel his presence near her during the past weekend, she had no clue that Sheldon was currently standing right behind her, reaching into a cabinet directly above her. She knew her boyfriend and normally he wouldn't ever do something so dangerous. It was enough to make her lose her train of thought entirely. Speechless, she stood beneath him, daring not to move until he was done._

_ Moments passed like hours while she waited, but he didn't go anywhere. Instead, his hands lowered to the counter on either side of her and she heard him inhale, most likely taking in the scent of her shampoo._

_ Amy gasped when she felt Sheldon's hand push her hair over her shoulder and it surprised her even more when he kissed the back of her neck._

This was already too much, but she wasn't gonna squirm around like last time. She could control her hormones. Besides, the last thing she needed was Leonard getting suspicious.

_"I couldn't stop thinking about the last time we were in this apartment together," Sheldon finally said, leaning down and nuzzling the back of her neck with his nose._

_ "Oh, Sheldon. Neither could I," Amy sighed, relishing the feel of having him so close to her._

_ "I couldn't wait to see you again, but I feared that if I did, I wouldn't be able to control myself," Sheldon murmured._

_ She suddenly felt his weight upon her, something rigid pressing against her lower back._

Holy crap, this was already hot. And it wasn't until she thought about that moment when Sheldon was standing above her that she came to grips with the actuality of his height. Her boyfriend was a monster of a man and he was all hers. No other woman on the face of the planet could say that... Well, except maybe his mother and his meemaw.

_Amy turned around so she could face him and he immediately dipped his head down for a smoldering kiss. She could practically feel the desperation in that kiss and it warmed her from head to toe. Then she had a startling realization. Her boyfriend's fingers were busying themselves with unbuttoning her cardigan._

Yeah right! Even if the two of them did become intimate, Sheldon would never attack her like this. But then again, this was her fantasy. She could do whatever she wanted. So instead of him teasing her, she would be able to tease him if she wanted.

_"Sheldon! We're in the kitchen," was all Amy said as she put her hands on his to stop him from trying to undress her._

Nope. That was definitely something she would not do if he were actually trying to undress her in real life. She didn't care if it was happening in the middle of the Cheesecake Factory on its busiest night.

Amy looked up to make sure Leonard wasn't paying attention to her. Thankfully, it looked as though he was playing one of those text-based adventure games that Sheldon talked about sometimes.

Ah, she remembered the level of immersion. It was when she was finishing off her very first little fantasy story. The last parts of it had come about quite fluidly, though she had to keep her hormones in check. It may not have been the best story, but she did get to live out her fantasy on paper. And it did bring a feeling of satisfaction in more ways than one. Perhaps it had been helping just a tad.

It was almost as good as the time she was able to live out her fantasy verbally. And her boyfriend had been there at the time. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to keep it together long enough to make it through that session. She'd tried on several occasions to talk him into doing it again, but he maintained that to have an engaging experience playing D&D, there should be at the very least three players.

(I'm losing focus,) Amy told herself. (But I _am_ getting ideas for another fantasy...)

_"We won't get caught. No one else is here," Sheldon told her, leaning down to kiss her neck._

_ Amy allowed him the one kiss, but she wouldn't free his hands from her grasp. She simply shook her head at him and smiled. "Bedroom."_

_ Sheldon, still bombarding her neck with gentle kisses, bobbed his head in agreement._

Okay, she'd wanted to tease him, but how could she say no to something she wanted. (Looks like that rape scenario will have to wait for another time,) Amy thought with an internal chuckle.

_After journeying to Amy's bedroom, her boyfriend sat with her on the bed and hung his head._

_ "What's wrong?" Amy asked, still holding his hands._

_ "I have to apologize about my behavior the last time we were together. I wasn't very gentlemanly and I lost control," Sheldon said._

_ "We both lost control," Amy assured him._

_ "Well, we were basically fully clothed still, yet there was so much of you I wanted to explore," Sheldon admitted._

Amy shivered with such a delightful thought. A Sheldon who was genuinely interested in all of her. Not just her mind, but her body as well. There was no greater thing than being wholly desired by the one you love. It was sad that it took _her_ so long to realize that she was actually interested in all of him. The two had been friends for so long before she knew and understood what she was feeling.

But unlike her boyfriend, once she realized what that feeling was, she didn't try to deny it. Instead, she embraced it for all that it was. If—and only _if_—Sheldon was feeling what she was feeling, he was being stubborn about it. Stubborn. All caps and bold and italicized. _**STUBBORN**_.

Before she knew it, she'd typed the word on her screen. So she frowned at it and pressed her backspace key until it was gone.

Lately, however, Sheldon wasn't being quite so resistant. And even though it wasn't in the way she wanted, he had been touching her more than he normally would.

Which brought her back to the Relationship Agreement and the fact that Sheldon had purposefully left it unchanged. According to Leonard, Sheldon had admitted that his neglecting to update the Relationship Agreement would be to his own advantage. Were she and Sheldon secretly putting challenges to each other? She had told him that she wanted to exclude all physical contact, yet she'd turned it into an experiment to coerce physical contact from him. He had agreed that there was no need for physical contact, excluding it from their current contract, yet he'd left the contract that obviously overrode their temporary NGM Agreement in tact.

Case in point: Amy and her boyfriend were a couple of idiots.

And as she stared at the words on her computer screen, she wondered how far they would let all this go if they left it as it was. They'd had a bit of a discussion before her decision to turn this into some sort of mind game. She'd made it clear that there was to be no touching, yet they were both being pretty defiant about it in their own ways.

(We still need to—) Amy's thought began, but was interrupted by Sheldon's return.

Amy and Leonard looked at each other as Sheldon took a seat at his desk.

"Well, it's been a long day. Think I'm gonna turn in early," Leonard announced, grabbing his laptop. As he headed toward his bedroom, he gestured to Amy, obviously trying to get her to talk to her boyfriend.

After they all said their goodnights and the shorter physicist retired to his room, Amy looked toward Sheldon and was about to say something when her eyes lingered at the back of his long, pale neck. No! She couldn't be distracted now. She should fully focus her sexual energies on writing and leave the rest for everything else in her life. It was as simple as that.

(Alright, not even _I_ believe that,) she thought.

Amy cleared her throat. "Sheldon, I think we should talk."

Her boyfriend gave an exaggerated sigh and leaned back in his chair. Without even bothering to turn around, he said, "Amy, I have approximately 37 minutes until my clothes are done drying. How long will this 'talk' be?"

Bringing up the whole Relationship Agreement thing should have been her priority, but she was getting something out of it too. Gift horse and all that. So, she ignored his question and instead said, "You held my hand for most of the day today."

Sheldon still didn't turn to her. "Yes, well, we still have a contract stating that it's required."

"I liked it."

"Of course you did. You're a girl."

"Did you like it?"

The physicist paused for only a moment. "It's a requirement. Whether I liked it or not is irrelevant."

Amy narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. "That wasn't an answer, though. You either liked it or you didn't."

"I didn't find it unpleasant."

"So, you liked it."

"I didn't say that."

Amy grinned and decided to pull out the big guns. She hadn't brought this up all day, not even to herself. "Your pupils dilated."

Sheldon quickly swiveled around in his chair to finally look at her. "Excuse me?"

"When we were first holding hands today, your pupils dilated," Amy told him.

"...Are you sure that wasn't some estrogen-induced delusion?"

She ignored the fact that he was basically calling her a bag of hormones. "I'm sure. I was looking right at them. And you have light colored eyes, so it was pretty obvious."

"Hm. Well, anything could have caused that. A change in lighting..." Her boyfriend thought for a moment. "For all I know, my cereal could have been laced with hallucinogens."

To come to such an outrageous conclusion was the act of a desperate man. "Or you could have been sexually aroused," Amy suggested.

Sheldon was quiet for a long time before he finally said, "That is a possibility."

She wasn't as surprised about the fact that he had the potential for sexual arousal as she was about the fact that he'd actually admitted to there being a possibility of it. Her surprise was unwarranted, though. He'd admitted that sometimes when he thought about the time he gave her a bath, he had to practice Kolinahr. That was practically a confession that he thought about her sexually.

"You did make some sort of sound and it reminded me of when you were 'brushing your teeth' yesterday...," was all Sheldon said quietly as he began studying his hands.

It was necessary for her to think about this from Sheldon's point of view in order to understand what was really happening here. If _A_ equals _B_ and _B_ equals _C_, then _A_ equals _C_. So, then, it was logical to assume that it was a _possibility_ that he was _sexually aroused_ by the thought of her "_brushing her teeth_".

Now this was something they definitely needed to talk about.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Oh, it was so wrong to end this chapter here. I know. I'm sorry.

a/n: Love it? Hate it? Somewhere inbetween? Personally I think the last 2 chapters could have been better. I'll just have to step it up for the next ones.

a/n: I also didn't read over this one as much as I would have liked.


	11. Madness in a Measure

a/n: As usual, thanks for the reviews, favorites and followings! You guys are the best!

disclaimer: The song herein is not mine.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 11: Madness in a Measure**_

"You did make some sort of sound and it reminded me of when you were 'brushing your teeth' yesterday...," was all Sheldon said quietly as he began studying his hands.

Little did Sheldon know, he'd just given his girlfriend the keys to a kingdom. Her confidence about Sheldon's feelings for her skyrocketed. Yes, he wanted her, but thanks to his little Kolinahr sessions, he simply suppressed those feelings.

"And you're sure you didn't allow me access to a box of 'Magic Mushroom Flakes' this morning?" Sheldon asked.

Amy failed to stifle a laugh. "I didn't drug you, Sheldon. And I'd like to point out that you thought about what I was doing in the bathroom yesterday when I made some kind of sound while you were holding my hand. And that was a possible reason why your pupils dilated. May I assume that you were aroused when you thought about that incident?"

Sheldon swiveled back around in his chair to face his computer again. "You're free to _assume_ whatever you want, but assuming does not make it so."

Okay, that bugged her a little. He'd just _said_ it. She might not have a full grasp of topics in number theory, but proofs were not beyond her. She'd taken the proper steps in decoding his meaning. She was sure that she was beginning to understand the concepts behind Sheldon-speak, but maybe it really was impossible to translate.

No! She was right about this. All of the pieces of the puzzle were there before her and she'd put them together. He just didn't want to admit it. Then again, he never said it _wasn't_ true either. He'd only told her that she was free to assume what she wanted.

One of her demons interrupted her by whispering in her ear, (_I've noticed that Sheldon tends to associate interactions between the two of you to other situations. Your little bathroom incident being the ultimate proof. If you could somehow get him to associate those Kolinahr sessions with _you_, it may become a distraction and he won't be able to do it anymore_.)

That fiendish little part of her had a point. And he _had_ offered to teach her the ways of Kolinahr. What if she were to take "Kolinahr lessons" from him and find a way to distract him? Would they even have time for those sorts of lessons? Their entire weekends were dedicated to the watching of Star Trek. And they'd basically agreed that they would see less of each other during the week in order to allow for full weekends together.

Amy sighed. "You're right, Sheldon. I shouldn't assume that you could possibly be as aroused by me as I am by you. Which is why I've changed my mind."

Sheldon slowly turned back to her, his expression one of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I was the one who wanted to put an end to our attempts at intimacy, yet every time you get close to me, I become..._overwhelmingly_ aroused."

"Overwhelmingly," Sheldon repeated without seeming to realize it.

"If I want this to work, I'll have to have more control. I can't go off 'brushing my teeth' every time you do something that causes my nether region to throb relentlessly."

Her boyfriend folded his arms tightly across his chest and nodded slowly as he stared at the empty chair beside the couch.

"I would like you to teach me the Vulcan ritual of Kolinahr."

Sheldon attempted to speak, but had to clear his throat before anything would come out. "A wise decision. We'll have to discuss the details since our weekends are full. Now if you'll excuse me, I have laundry to fold."

"I'll come down and help you," Amy suggested.

"Oh, that's not necessary."

"I'd like to."

"I'm sure you have better things to do here. I won't be long," Sheldon told her as he hurried out of the apartment.

Amy frowned. She couldn't help noticing that 37 minutes hadn't passed yet.

* * *

The drive back to Amy's apartment had been a quiet one, even after Amy's attempt to open up a conversation about one of the episodes they'd watched today. Of course, she wanted to talk about the episode where Sheldon's childhood idol, Wesley Crusher, had fallen in love with a young ruler. The neurobiologist did have a tendency to lean toward topics of romance when it came to discussing the show. It shouldn't have surprised her that Sheldon barely said anything throughout the conversation. Most of his responses were simply nods and forced smiles as he sat slouched in the passenger seat, his arms folded tightly.

This must have been signaling the end of the "honeymoon phase" of Next Generation Madness.

Since Sheldon was in the shower—out of turn, to which she probably should have given more thought—she decided she'd play a little harp. She'd heard a song in passing in some little store in the mall and thought it would be a good idea to learn to play something new:

—

_I say I'll move the mountains_

_And I'll move the mountains_

_If he wants them out of the way_

_Crazy he calls me_

_Sure, I'm crazy_

_Crazy in love, I say_

_I say I'll go through fire_

_And I'll go through fire_

_As he wants it, so it will be_

_Crazy he calls me_

_Sure, I'm crazy_

_Crazy in love, you see_

_Like the wind that shakes the bough_

_He moves me with a smile_

_The difficult I'll do right now_

_The impossible will take a little while_

_I say I'll care forever_

_And I mean forever_

_If I have to hold up the sky_

_Crazy he calls me_

_Sure, I'm crazy_

_Crazy in love am I_

_Like the wind that shakes the bough_

_He moves me with a smile_

_The difficult I'll do right now_

_The impossible will take a little while_

_I say I'll care forever_

_And I mean forever_

_If I have to hold up the sky_

_Crazy he calls me_

_Sure, I'm crazy_

_Crazy in love am I_

—

When she was in the store, the song seemed nice and she liked the melody. It had an old world sound, so she wanted to learn it. She thought it would sound great if played on the harp and boy, was she right.

Unfortunately, she hadn't really paid attention to the lyrics of the song until now. Thanks to this beautifully stupid song, she was beginning to think that she hadn't put enough of herself into her attempts to simply let their relationship be.

(Concentrate on writing your fantasies and let the rest of the chips fall where they may,) Amy tried to tell herself as she continued to finger the melody on the harp strings. (Forcing him won't work. Tricking him is just plain selfish. And just remember, 'The impossible will take a little while'.)

Sure, the actual meaning of the song was completely different than the way she was interpreting it, but there was a universal message between the lines. (If you truly love someone, you'll put thoughts of yourself aside and you'll do anything for him,) she thought.

"That song you're playing—" Sheldon began.

His voice startled her, which was strange since she was facing the bathroom, yet hadn't seen him come out. She must have been pretty deep in thought.

"That's 'Crazy He Calls Me', the Billie Holiday rendition. Wow. That song brings back a lot of memories," Sheldon went on.

It was nice to see that he was finally talking again, but there was one thing she didn't quite get. "It's a song from the 50s. I doubt you were around when this song was popular, Sheldon."

"No, I mean that the song was played on Galaxy News Radio. It's the radio station you could listen to with your Pip Boy in the post-apocalyptic game Fallout 3. Actually, in order to listen to it wherever you went, you first had to do a mission to get— Well, not important. What _is_ important is that I'm reminded of walking through the ruins of Washington, D.C. while listening to this song," Sheldon babbled. "Oh! Do you know any other songs from Fallout 3's Galaxy News Radio station?"

She had no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed so excited about it that she almost told him that she did. "No, just the one."

"Awwwww," Sheldon said, hanging his head in disappointment.

"But I can do a little research and learn some more songs. Would you like that?" Amy asked.

Sheldon's wide grin nearly knocked her straight out of her chair and she just looked at him as he nodded vigorously.

A little giggle escaped her. "Alright." She finally stood and headed toward the couch. "Come on. Let's watch a few more episodes before bed."

Her boyfriend nodded and followed her.

* * *

She was surprised that it took less than an episode for Sheldon to take her hand this time as they sat on the couch sharing her blanket. She could feel a warmth spreading throughout her body and she knew she would end up taking a late night shower.

"Amy," her boyfriend said quietly, but didn't look at her. He was staring at the credits as the next episode was ending.

"Yes?" she asked, staring at the side of his face.

"I just wanted you to know that not only is holding your hand not unpleasant, but I also don't dislike it," Sheldon whispered.

He finally looked at her and their eyes seemed to become locked in an everlasting gaze. It was enough to make her forget all about the fact that his statement was delivered in the least romantic way possible. She couldn't help feeling that this was one of those moments in a romance novel where the main character would kiss his woman. As a matter of fact, Sheldon's grip on her hand tightened and she wasn't sure if she was delusional, but she thought she saw his face, even in the darkness, inching closer to hers.

Alas, Sheldon finally released her hand and stood. "We should get to bed so we can start early tomorrow."

Amy couldn't hold back her disappointed sigh. She was indeed delusional. "You're right. We've still got a good bit of episodes to watch. Goodnight, Sheldon."

"Goodnight, Amy."

Once he was gone, she let out another sigh and started collecting her bedding. She knew she wasn't tired yet. After a moment like that, how could she sleep? So, instead she pulled out her laptop and looked at the last few lines she'd written for her story.

_ "I have to apologize about my behavior the last time we were together. I wasn't very gentlemanly and I lost control," Sheldon said._

_ "We both lost control," Amy assured him._

_ "Well, we were basically fully clothed still, yet there was so much of you I wanted to explore," Sheldon admitted._

Amy rolled her eyes at her own imagination, but she had to remember that what she was writing was merely a fantasy. Whether what was happening was possible or not had nothing to do with it.

_"It's not too late, you know. I'm right here, so you can explore as much as you want," Amy told him._

_ Sheldon gave a nod and leaned close to her. "Then I'll start here."_

_ To her surprise, he planted a gentle kiss upon her lips. She was sure she would never tire of this as he showed no sign of pulling away. As a matter of fact, he tilted his head and added more pressure._

The room was much too warm for her. Or maybe it was just her internal temperature rising. Why wasn't any of this happening in real life? She knew he had a history of a fear of uncleanliness and germs, but she was constantly reporting her own states of health to him any time she had an exam. She even gave him copies of the paperwork. Besides, the more time she'd been spending with him, the less that all seemed to matter to him.

Maybe they really were working their way around to being more intimate.

_Sheldon's fingers made their way back to her cardigan buttons as he continued to kiss her, distracting her by teasing her upper lip with the tip of his tongue. Her outer layer of clothes gave no resistance, her boyfriend's fingers deftly pushing her cardigan aside as he began working on her next layer._

_ Amy, in the meantime, was teasing Sheldon's bottom lip with her tongue while she tried to find a way to take his shirts off without losing contact with his lips. What a tangled mess they had become, attempting to remove each other's clothes. Sheldon let out a frustrated grunt as he broke their kiss and waited for Amy to finish pulling his shirts over his head._

_ He didn't seem to mind sitting there with his upper body exposed, considering he went back to kissing her and working on the buttons of her shirt. He'd finally gotten the final button of her blouse undone only to be faced with a third shirt._

_ "Amy! I forbid you to wear so many layers when I come over. This is your nightgown all over again," Sheldon murmured huskily._

_ Amy began assaulting Sheldon's neck with kisses, forcing a low moan from him. "Then you're really gonna hate the bottom half," she whispered back._

(Okay. This is more funny than erotic,) Amy told herself with a quiet little giggle. She shook her head and continued.

_Amy pushed Sheldon down onto the bed, hiked up her skirt and straddled him. While Sheldon lay there, startled, Amy finished removing her final top. She removed her glasses, grabbed a clip from her nightstand and put her hair up._

_ Her boyfriend, once the initial shock of her sudden actions faded, looked pleased to see her on top of him. "You should wear you hair up more often." Reaching up with both hands, he fingered the material of her bra—a lacey red secret that she'd only shared with Victoria up until this point._

_ "I'll keep that in mind," Amy said. She slowly began moving her hips as she pressed herself against the hardness that was poking at her inner thighs. Suddenly, she wished she weren't wearing so many layers on the lower half of her body. And she sure as shooting wished that she'd taken off Sheldon's pants._

This was too much for her to take. There was no way that something like Kolinahr would be enough to sate her desire. It was shower time and Gerard would be joining her.

...Sheldon had broken his usual routine and had taken a shower after they got back from doing his laundry. (It'll be fun to pretend that he might have engaged in a little self-indulgence,) Amy thought.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: I won't lie. Things have been a little raunchy for the T rating that this story is under. I feel bad about that, I really do. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!


	12. The Mad Gambit

a/n: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews. Just to let all of you know, I'm still majorly fangirling from Episode 15.

a/n: Also, to the interested individual, I am indeed a player of Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I won't lie, the fact that I started replaying Fallout 3 recently had a huge influence on Amy's learning that song. (The first mission I do when I leave Megaton is ALWAYS the mission to get GNR back up and running so I can go around The Capital Wasteland listening to that station. I know it's a main story mission and normally I would steer clear of doing main story quests for a while in order to do some exploring, but that mission is of the _utmost_ importance to me. Note: I never turn the mission in to Three Dog immediately though because I wait to get more info on my dad from Rivet City so I can get the key to Three Dog's stash instead.)

a/n: Actually, any game that I reference herein is a game I've played before. I think in previous chapters I mentioned XCOM: UFO Defense (the original on PC, but I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to it if it weren't for the reboot, XCOM: Enemy Unknown) and Ninja Gaiden (the original on Nintendo). I also mentioned a text-based game that Leonard was playing, but there was no name-drop there. That was Zork. I didn't really say what game they were playing on GameCube during their first game night in this story, but I'm gonna say it was Bomberman Generation. That's what's funny about their vintage game nights. Sometimes they play single-player games. In this case, the majority are single-player games.

a/n: In another one of my stories, Leonard was playing Dishonored (on Xbox 360, even though I only own it on PC and PS3—Playstation being my console of choice, which is why I want a PS4, but have yet to get one). That is one _beautifully_ crafted game, so that probably won't be the last time I bring it up.

a/n: Sorry, I just gamer-junkied out for a minute there. I could talk about that stuff all day, but this is neither the time nor the place. Let's get back to the story.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 12: The Mad Gambit**_

While sleeping last night was a breeze, sleeping tonight was not. Amy was tossing and turning the whole time, full of nervous energy. Not even her shower last night was enough to relax her mind after Sheldon's confession:

"I just wanted you to know that not only is holding your hand not unpleasant, but I also don't dislike it," was what he'd said.

She flipped over onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow. What was she supposed to think? All this hand holding. All these half answers to her questions. She'd tried being straight forward in a some of the cases and she still wasn't getting straight answers from him. Should she just come clean? Should she admit to her manipulation? Should she admit that she knew about his purposeful Relationship Agreement neglect. Would that be enough to inspire him to come clean with her?

When she groaned loudly into her pillow, she heard something in the kitchen shatter and splatter. With a gasp, she shot up to see what was going on. Was she being robbed? She couldn't tell, since there was a tiny, yet bright light shining directly into her eyes.

"Amy? You're awake?"

She recognized the voice as Sheldon's, but she still couldn't see on account of whatever was going on with that light. "Sheldon? What are you doing?"

Sheldon finally turned on the kitchen light and turned off the headlamp he was wearing. "I was getting a cup of warm milk to help me sleep." He looked at the floor where something had obviously broken. "Oh, dear. What a mess."

Amy sighed and shook her head. "Come on. I'll help you. There are some gloves in the bottom drawer."

After Sheldon pulled out a pair of gloves for himself and a pair for her, they both put them on and began cleaning up the broken mug and the spilled milk.

There was a staggering silence hovering dead in the air between them while they were concentrating on the mess on the floor. In an attempt to lighten things up, Amy laughed to herself as she was drying up the milk. "Bounty really is the quicker picker upper."

When she got no response from Sheldon, she finally looked up at him. It appeared that he'd stopped what he was doing and was looking at her... Not really looking at _her_, but more like looking down her gown. Amy had forgotten that she'd undone a few of her buttons due to the heat. She was both embarrassed and pleased to have that kind of attention from him.

"Sheldon...," was really all Amy could say as she sat upright, clutching her nightgown closed. Hiding the little smirk on her face proved impossible.

For him to openly ogle her was unusual. She tried to remember if it had ever happened before...

Her boyfriend blinked and looked away. "I-I guess I'm falling asleep again." He quickly went back to what he was doing.

That sounded like an excuse.

Once they were finished with the spill, Amy simply stood at the kitchen counter and looked at Sheldon for a long time, even though he wouldn't look at her. "It's 4AM, Sheldon. Is everything alright?"

"No, everything's not alright," Sheldon told her as he poured himself a mug of cold milk instead of the warm milk he'd intended to get.

Amy was a little surprised and concerned by that answer. "Are you okay? Are you unwell?"

The physicist shook his head, staring down into his mug. "No... I don't know... Maybe..."

"What's wrong?"

A quick glance at her and Sheldon's eyes immediately retreated back to his mug. "Last night, not long after we went to bed, I heard the shower running..." He paused for a long time and sighed. "And I heard your toothbrush."

There was nothing Amy could say and her face burned with the heat of a thousand suns. She simply looked down at her own hands on the counter.

"And I thought about what you said you were doing the other day when you went to brush your teeth," Sheldon went on. "And I'm afraid I'm no longer qualified to teach you anything about the mental discipline of Kolinahr."

Her interpretations of what he actually meant when he said certain things were usually right. In this case, however, she wasn't sure what to think he might be implying. And he gave no additional information on which to base a solid inference.

(_I'd like to make an inference_,) one of her lust demons whispered to her. (_Your boyfriend failed to attain Kolinahr, resulting in a need to do to himself what you were doing to yourself in the bathroom_.)

As if her face hadn't been enough, now her whole body burned with the heat of a thousand suns. (No, Sheldon wouldn't do something like that. If he thought it inappropriate for me to do it in my own home while I had a guest, he would definitely frown upon doing it in someone else's home,) she thought.

(_Would he be able to stop himself if his need were great enough?_) her demon pointed out.

The thought of her boyfriend's want being so great that he was overcome with the need to touch himself _in her bed_ punched her right where it counted. Her usual involuntary owl sound came out as nothing more than a quiet exhale.

The silence between them had gone on for too long. And while she was tempted to ask him the details of his lack of Kolinahr qualifications, she decided that—at least for the moment—she would believe what she wanted to believe. It was neither true nor untrue to her until she opened that box to unveil the reality of it. Schrodinger's Cat and all that.

For the most part, though, Kolinahr seemed to work for Sheldon. He'd gone on this long in his life without intimacy. Then again, he'd never been in a relationship where intimacy was a factor. "Of course you're qualified," Amy finally said. "Just because you failed once doesn't mean you're not qualified. This is something I need to learn and there's no better teacher than you."

"I don't know if I would have used the word 'failed', but you're right about one thing. There's no better teacher than I," Sheldon said, finally looking at her again.

This whole Kolinahr thing wasn't a bad idea, considering she was trying to keep herself from thinking about intimacy so much.

(_Don't lose focus here. The whole reason you agreed to learn this Kolinahr thing was to distract him and make him think about you. And the whole reason you're trying not to think about intimacy so much is so that he'd be tempted _into_ intimacy,_) her demon whispered.

Amy rolled her eyes. (You're making it seem worse than it is. Maybe I changed my mind. Maybe I don't want to do this whole little experiment.) She frowned about what she was doing. Her thoughts were responses to feelings of guilt. She knew this. There were no demons. Only her own guilty, lustful thoughts coming to the surface.

(_Yeah, that's the definition of having demons, dear,_) that same demon told her.

Amy shook her head and frowned. Was she turning into a nutjob? Had her boyfriend driven her completely bonkers? She looked at him for a long time and he looked back at her for only a moment before finishing off his milk.

She began drumming her fingers on the counter and staring at her boyfriend's fingers drumming on what she imagined was his new personal mug after his old one shattered. "Well, I hope that helps you sleep."

Not a movement was made on his part. He simply stood there, staring at his mug. "Well, after you startled me earlier, I'm not so sure I'll be able to sleep. Is it alright if we watch a few episodes?"

"I'm not really tired right now either. Sure, we can watch a little Star Trek."

* * *

It never failed anymore. The two of them officially shared her throw any time they watched the episodes now. Sheldon had taken her hand before the opening credits had a chance to end. Unfortunately, they were both pretty tired from their lack of sleep and Amy knew she fell asleep before the first episode ended.

And so when Amy awoke, she was sitting with her head leaned against Sheldon's shoulder and Sheldon had leaned his head against her head. Their fingers were still entwined as well, and Amy refused to move for a while yet. Falling asleep on the couch together almost felt romantic.

She wanted to see what time it was. She also wanted to have some breakfast, however, the thought of losing this moment made her hesitate.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there before Sheldon lifted his head, but when he finally did, he looked surprised that he'd lain his head on her. Amy smiled up at him, her head still on his shoulder, and he slowly relaxed and smiled back.

* * *

"So, what do _you_ think about a cloned society?" Amy asked, pausing the player after watching Episode 18.

"It sounds a lot cleaner than the child-rearing foolishness that today's society has to deal with," Sheldon replied, still looking at the television.

Amy frowned and was about to say something, but was interrupted.

"It all begins with the messy exchange of bodily fluids. Then the would-be mother suffers through nine grueling months of pain, discomfort and hormonal imbalances. Meanwhile, the would-be father suffers through the would-be mother's nine grueling months of pain, discomfort and hormonal imbalances. And then comes yet another uncomfortable and unsanitary stage: childbirth. I still have nightmares about the ill-fated day I went back to Texas for that horrible event..."

Amy rolled her eyes and was about to say something else, but was again interrupted.

"Oh, no. The ugliness doesn't stop there. No, no. There are diaper changings, feedings, vomiting, potty training, bathroom-related accidents, illnesses, cuts and bruises, messy bedrooms, student/teacher conferences, talk-back—"

"Sheldon!" Amy finally said to get his attention.

Sheldon looked at her.

"You've made your point."

"I haven't even gotten to the teen years," Sheldon told her.

Amy sighed. "Alright. So children aren't something you look forward to. I get it."

"Well, that wasn't my point at all. You asked what I thought about a cloned society. It's just a lot neater. The offspring are already adults and there's no need for coitus in order to produce them," Sheldon said. "Honestly, we could probably use a few generations of that now. Then people would spend more time on the advancement of civilization and less time thinking about and having sex."

"I think it's a horrible idea and I think Riker said it best. Multiples of an individual diminishes that individual. He's no longer unique or special," Amy said. "I know that was the only way their people were able to sustain themselves up until that point, but it's those differences that make life interesting. That's the main reason I'm so attracted to you. You're unlike any other person I've ever met."

Sheldon just looked at her.

"And I'd like to think that's the reason why out of all the people in all the world, I was the only one you've ever chosen to be your girlfriend," Amy continued quietly.

Her boyfriend thought for a moment. "Hm. Yet you and I are so similar. Doesn't that contradict the point that it's the differences that make life interesting?"

Amy frowned. "I hadn't really thought of that."

"Exactly," Sheldon said, grabbing the remote. "So, human cloning it is. Point: Cooper."

* * *

They finished off the episodes pretty early, thanks to their first night of the weekend. And now she was driving her boyfriend back to his apartment. She was still a little disturbed by their earlier conversation regarding cloning. Especially the part about excluding intimacy from society. There were still a few things she needed to understand.

"I've been told that you left the Relationship Agreement unamended on purpose," Amy said without actually meaning to. Now was not the right time to bring this up, but it was too late. It was out there now. "And that it was to your own advantage somehow."

There was nothing but the sound of the engine humming for a long moment.

"I'll make the proper revisions and bring it to our next NGM weekend," Sheldon told her.

"No, that wasn't my point at all," Amy said, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the car in front of her. "I want you to be honest with me. Is the reason you left the Relationship Agreement unchanged because you wanted an excuse to hold my hand regardless of what the Next Generation Madness Agreement said?" She couldn't have asked it any plainer.

"In my defense—" Sheldon began.

"It's a yes or no question."

"Yes," he said quickly.

"Then I'll be honest with you about something," Amy said. She took a deep breath. "It wasn't like this at first, but once I saw that you were willing to be intimate with me, I purposefully withheld physical contact from you." It felt good to have it off her chest. Living in guilt was no way to live.

She could see Sheldon nodding slowly.

"Then we are both dishonest and deceitful," her boyfriend murmured.

That comment brought a frown to her face. "Yes."

"Dishonesty and deceit are brought about by emotions. The purging of these emotions will rid us of these blights upon our relationship. It's a good thing we'll be practicing Kolinahr together," Sheldon said. "I'll clear my schedule so we can begin as soon as possible."

Amy raised her eyebrows. That was just one more thing she wasn't being honest about.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: This wasn't the way I planned it at all... Anyway, please let me know what you think. And thanks for reading.


	13. To Invite Madness

a/n: I'm still feeling the effects of watching Episode 15. I haven't been right since. And believe me, it's in a good way. Well, not good for my writing. I've been a little scattered there. Good for everything else in life though.

a/n: As a side note: I also wish I could go into a Sheldon POV for some of these moments, but this story is solely from Amy's POV. So sad, but so true. And it's so frustrating that we can only get Amy's speculations. As a matter of fact, I'm hoping that Sheldon's OOCness stems from the fact that we're kinda seeing him through Amy's eyes. Can I use that as an excuse? ;p

a/n: Also as a side note: This story is a lot longer than I thought it would be. Things were supposed to speed up (at least the passing of days), but it seems I'm lingering. I hope that's not a bad thing. But don't be surprised if days begin to pass faster at some point. It looks like it's taking longer to get these chapters out too. Sorry about that. Like I said, scattered.

Warning!: I know next to nothing about Kolinahr (I don't even know if that's really how it's spelled). I'm basically just bs-ing my way through all of this. So, don't call me out on it. Just kidding. If you want to comment about inaccuracies, please feel free.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 13: To Invite Madness**_

_Journal Entry: Once again I have failed. I'd intended to make this whole thing into an experiment, but my own guilt won out. I told Sheldon what I'd been planning. I'd left out the details, but I did tell him that I was purposefully denying him physical contact. Whether or not he understood the exact implications of my confession, I'm not sure._

_ So, now we're at this weird point. My confession has freed my mind, but where does that leave us? Does that mean I should allow for physical contact again? Should I continue to deny us physical contact? If I allow for it, he may never want to touch me again. If I continue to deny it, he may actually follow through and never want to touch me again._

_ And what was with his reaction anyway? He didn't seem surprised or angry. Did he know the whole time, or was that just typical Sheldon?_

_ Lately, typical Sheldon didn't seem so typical anymore. He kept bringing up my little toothbrushing episode from the first evening and I can't help thinking that he might _actually_ be turned on by the thought. And the thought of Sheldon being turned on in any way is enough to make my mouth water. Well, not just my mouth..._

_ But I digress. No matter how I look at this, I've complicated things between us. What if he really does revise the Relationship Agreement? That'll really put a damper on things. Once it's all in writing, there's no turning back._

* * *

Amy was in her lab trying her best to concentrate on the paperwork before her. Mondays were indeed the worst day of the week. Her brain was completely frazzled after her weekend and she found it hard to focus on just one task. Especially a task as dull as filling out forms.

Thankfully, she was distracted by a knock on the door. She was surprised to see not one, but three visitors—her boyfriend's friends. And they looked like they were uncomfortable about being there.

No one spoke immediately and this was beginning to make Amy nervous. "Hello, gentlemen." Maybe she shouldn't be so thankful for this distraction yet.

A simultaneously mumbled greeting emitted from the guys, but they didn't seem keen on actually talking.

"What's going on? Where's Sheldon?" Amy asked.

Raj and Howard nudged Leonard and the bespectacled scientist sighed. "He's in his office," Leonard told her.

"Is something wrong?" Amy questioned.

"We're just a little concerned, is all," Leonard said. "He's been behaving strangely and we hoped you could help us find out what his problem is."

Howard nodded. "Yeah, last week, it was sci-fi writing and some sort of contract. Now it's mumblings about toothbrushes and Kolinahr." He looked at the other guys, then back at Amy. "Normally, his random weirdness doesn't really bother us because that's just the way he is. This weirdness, however, is far from random. You've gotta do something about him."

"Me? You guys are his friends. What am _I_ supposed to do?" Amy asked.

"It's pretty obvious, at least to us, that this all has something to do with your weekends together," Leonard told her. "We don't need any details—"

Raj smiled. "Yes, we do."

Howard quickly shook his head.

"No. We don't," Leonard assured her. "Whatever is happening between the two of you is none of our business."

"I'd like to know," Raj whined.

Leonard sighed and gave Raj a stern look.

The astronomer leaned close to Amy and whispered, "We'll talk later."

Amy simply shook her head at him.

"We're afraid for Sheldon's sanity," Leonard went on.

"The teeny tiny bit that he has," Howard added.

Amy narrowed her eyes at Howard, who looked at his shoes.

"And as a person who shares an apartment with him, the last thing I need is for that guy to fall even farther off his proverbial rocker," Leonard said with a nervous chuckle.

"Seriously? Guys, there was no need for this little intervention. I can assure you that Sheldon's not 'falling off his rocker' or anything like that. I'll talk to him, but I'm telling you that there's nothing to worry about," Amy told them.

* * *

Amy noticed that the doorway to Sheldon's office was opened. Her boyfriend simply stood at his whiteboard which had what looked like the beginnings of an equation and in the corner was a picture of what she assumed was a hand drawn in the traditional Vulcan salute with the phrase "peace and long life" written underneath. Simply entering the office would have been rude, so she knocked on the opened door.

Sheldon whipped around, apparently startled by a visitor. "Amy? What are you doing here?"

"Um, I came to say hi," Amy lied. She frowned as she walked on into the office. She had no respect for lies or liars, yet she was steadily leaning in that direction. "Actually, the guys sent me."

"The guys? What for?" he asked.

"They're a little concerned about you and frankly, so am I. They told me that you've been walking around muttering about Kolinahr and toothbrushes."

Sheldon sighed and folded his arms. "And whose fault do you think that is? I can't even look at a toothbrush anymore without thinking about when you were..." He stopped short and looked at his shoes.

Amy felt a blush rising to her cheeks and she looked away. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done it. I wish I could take it back, but I can't." She sighed and looked back at her boyfriend. "I don't know how we can get past this."

"Neither do I," he said, avoiding eye contact.

"Maybe we should start by talking about it."

Sheldon finally looked at her again. " 'Talking about it'? What are we? Hippies? No."

Amy looked at Sheldon for a long time, narrowing her eyes at him. Then she stormed over to his office door and closed it. "If you don't want to talk, then I will." She marched back toward Sheldon and stood directly in front of him. She could tell that he wanted to back away, but strangely enough, he didn't. He just kept his arms folded and looked down at her.

For a moment, she lost her nerve. They were in his office, after all. This wasn't the privacy of her own apartment or even his. But there were things that desperately needed to be said.

"I have sexual desires and I tend to deal with those sexual desires in a sexual way."

"Which is why we've agreed that you learn the Vulcan mental discipline of Kolinahr. It's as simple as that. No further discussion necessary," her boyfriend told her.

"No, further discussion _is_ necessary because it doesn't seem to be working for you if you're walking around muttering about the way I deal with my desires. You also told me that you were no longer qualified to teach me. In what way?"

"My inability to sleep, of course. Had my attempt at Kolinahr been successful that night, I would have slept soundly."

Damn. She should have known that her demons were wrong. Sheldon would never in a billion years relieve any sexual frustrations in her bed. "So, if it didn't work for someone who's been a practitioner for years, what makes you think it'll work for me?"

Sheldon sighed and looked at his whiteboard. "Well, I told you I was no longer qualified, but you seem willing to learn. It will give you an alternative method of dealing with your...desires."

(_So if he teaches you Kolinahr, does that mean you get to teach him how to masturbate?_) one of her demons asked.

Amy almost laughed out loud about that thought. "Fair enough."

"See? Talking like hippies got us nowhere," Sheldon said. "I'd like to return to my work now."

"Does this mean you'll stop walking around talking about toothbrushes, then?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes and finally looked back at her. "If the others are that disturbed by my utterances, I'll try to keep it to a minimum. If they paid that much attention to _everything_ I said, they'd be at the tops of their respective fields by now."

* * *

Later that same day, Amy received a text from Sheldon:

[_I've cleared my schedule and our Kolinahr lessons can begin this afternoon. On our way to your apartment after work, we'll pick up Thai food for dinner. Dr. Sheldon Cooper._]

Wow. No questions asked. (What if I had plans for this afternoon?) Amy asked herself. She just shook her head and smiled. (He knows my schedule better than I do.)

[_I'll see you after work,_] she texted back.

* * *

Not much had been said during the drive to Amy's apartment. Just the usual discussions about how each other's day went. She expected Sheldon to be fidgety after altering his schedule so abruptly, but he seemed as calm as ever.

As she stood at her apartment door fumbling with her keys, she realized that it was she who was fidgety while Sheldon patiently stood behind her with their bag of food in hand.

That was the problem. He was standing _directly_ behind her. It reminded her of the day they'd gone shopping for his sweets. Then and now, she could practically feel the heat of his body. She had to wonder whether he was doing it on purpose. (Yeah right. Nothing he does that plunges me into an ocean of lust is ever on purpose,) she thought.

The neurobiologist took a deep inhale followed by a slow exhale to help steady herself and she was finally able to let them into her apartment.

"Having a meal before Kolinahr will help a beginner like you maintain focus on the task at hand," Sheldon told her as he took a seat on the couch and started setting up their food.

Amy closed and locked the door and stood leaning against it for a moment. Was she really supposed to focus with him here? Oh, she was beginning to regret attempting these lessons.

(_Find a way to distract him. Find a way to distract him. Find a way to distract him_,) her demons chanted to her over and over again.

* * *

"Alright, we'll just stay here on the couch in a comfortable position as not to lose focus," Sheldon told her. "Close your eyes, concentrate on your breathing and let no other thought enter your mind."

She did as she was told, but the moment she closed her eyes and took a breath, she took in his scent. That wonderful scent that lingered between her sheets, she was now permitted a live dose. He hadn't showered at least since this morning and the scent of his talc was wearing off. After another breath, she murmured, "You smell nice."

"Excuse me?" Sheldon asked.

"You smell nice," Amy repeated a little louder. She opened her eyes and saw that he was looking at her strangely.

"If you're not going to take this seriously, we may as well stop now," her boyfriend told her.

"No, no! I'm taking it seriously. Come on. Let's continue." She closed her eyes again and attempted to concentrate only on her breathing.

"Now, keep your mental eyes straight ahead. Concentrate on what the insides of your eyelids look like if you have to," Sheldon told her.

Amy took a few deep breaths and kept her eyes closed. "How am I supposed to stay focused when you keep talking?"

"I'm trying to guide you through it. You'll need a lot of practice in order to truly attain Kolinahr," Sheldon told her.

She was actually concentrating on the sound of Sheldon's voice. Her eyes were still closed and she was trying to steady her breathing. "Isn't Kolinahr a one-time process that's supposed to suppress all remaining emotion altogether?"

"Well, even after attaining Kolinahr and going through the ritual, one must still continue to practice Kolinahr in order to keep the emotions in check. This isn't some magic ritual. It takes hard work and dedication. It's a continuous process," Sheldon said. "But fear not. I think you have what it takes to succeed."

"Thank you, Sheldon," Amy said with a smile. Even though she wanted to look at him, she kept her eyes closed. "So this is what you do instead of...'giving yourself a hand'?"

"What are you talking about?"

She was finding it quite easy to talk to him about such an embarrassing topic while her eyes were closed. "You know. When you get those urges that every warm-blooded human being gets."

"Amy, you're not concentrating on the task at hand."

"Well, that's what this is all about, right? Something that'll help me deal with my desires in a way that doesn't involve 'brushing my teeth' like I did the first night you came over. And that one night in the shower. And in bed this morning before work."

"Oh, dear," Sheldon said quietly. "We may have more work to do here than I thought. I had no idea you were so...energetic."

She barely opened her eyes to get a peek at her boyfriend. He'd sounded different just now and she hoped that his expression would help her read what he was feeling. Unfortunately, she couldn't see his face. He seemed to be focused on his own hands, which had a death grip on his knees.

Closing her eyes once again, Amy sighed. This wasn't helping her at all. None of it.

(_Remember: "The impossible will take a little while"_,) one of her demons quoted from the song she's learned recently.

That song was drifting farther and farther from its original meaning.

"So?" Amy asked.

"So what?"

"You do this every time you get urges like that?" Amy asked, trying to look at him through her eyelids.

Sheldon was quiet for a moment before he said, "That's an awfully personal question."

"Come on, Sheldon. I know I've been volunteering this information about myself, but shouldn't you be a proper guide and give examples of your own practices?"

There was another long silence...

"It doesn't _always_ work," Sheldon finally admitted, "as I've already told you."

"Do you ever touch yourself?" Amy asked quietly. She almost couldn't believe she'd asked something like that and she was more than happy to keep her eyes closed.

"I think we've practiced enough for one day." Sheldon quickly stood.

"Wait, Sheldon. I'm sorry," Amy said, finally opening her eyes. She frowned when she saw that he'd turned his back to her.

"I'll...I'll take a cab back to my apartment," Sheldon told her as he headed toward the door.

Amy stood and followed him. "You don't have to do that. I can drive you home."

"That's not necessary. I'll...see you this weekend. Goodnight to you, Dr. Fowler," Sheldon said.

Before she was able to wish him a goodnight, he'd already closed the door.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Sorry if this chapter seems rushed. I had to get it out before I completely changed all of it. I'm not sure what to think about what just happened between our heroes though. So why don't you tell me what you think? Please review and thanks for reading.


	14. Mad Season

a/n: Oh, my goodness. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and the favorites and the followings. You people are much too kind. As for this becoming an M-rated fic, I don't know yet. We'll have to see how things go.

a/n: Also, I've always liked the phrase "live long and prosper", but for some reason the other, lesser quoted phrase, "peace and long life", has more appeal to a weirdo like me, even though the former has the more meaningful connotation. For that one, I kicked out Sheldon and put myself there. I'm sorry. That's something a writer shouldn't do. Especially since for the most part these characters have kinda been writing themselves without my permission lately! I'd better grab the reins before I completely lose control.

a/n: Blah, blah, blah. I need to learn when to shut my trap. Let's get on to the story.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 14: Mad Season**_

She'd texted Sheldon a few times throughout the week just to see if he'd reply. Thankfully he did and it was in his usual robotic manner, so nothing had changed there. It was best to avoid the topic of conversation after which they'd parted earlier in the week, but that didn't mean that she wasn't curious. She already knew that she was saving that particular rough patch for when they were stuck in her apartment together this weekend.

Other than her off-kilter Monday, the rest of her week had gone swimmingly. She'd done some research on that game her boyfriend brought up last weekend. That Fallout 3 game. And she's learned another song, which she looked forward to performing for him. It wasn't perfect, but she knew enough of it to be recognizable. This time, however, she'd paid attention to the lyrics and she hoped that they would speak to him the way they spoke to her.

She'd also finished her fantasy story and she was getting the feeling that writing these things was starting to work a little. Then again, it could have also been her attempts to meditate in the Kolinahr fashion. She really hadn't intended on trying to use Kolinahr as a means to suppress her sexual desires, but she wondered what it must be like for Sheldon, so she thought she'd try it. Maybe that was starting to work as well. She didn't put nearly the amount of concentration into it that she should have, but in combination with her story writing, it seemed as though she was really making progress. Perhaps it was time for a new story, though. Her little two part fantasy had accomplished what she wanted.

Now it was time to head over to Penny's to find out what they were doing for girls' night. She didn't really have any exciting news like she had for them last week. They'd probably laugh at her because her relationship with Sheldon had actually managed to retrogress. Not only that, but she couldn't go through with her little experiment because of a guilty conscience. And she'd told on herself. She'd confessed to what she was doing. Maybe it was a better idea to save that discussion for another girls' night.

* * *

The ladies decided to have a pre-outing gossip session before they went out dancing.

"For the past couple of weeks, Howie's been hinting that we should write some science fiction together. For the longest time I thought he was kidding. Then recently, he brought up something about you and Sheldon," Bernadette told Amy.

"Yeah, what's the deal with that? Leonard's been doing the same thing with me," Penny said.

Amy raised her eyebrows as both girls practically glared at her. "What? All I did was tell Sheldon that I might be interested in writing a 'space opera' with him once we were done watching Star Trek."

"Are you insane?!" Penny asked. "You're suddenly taking an interest in something he loves. And then you told him you'd write about it with him. You're making me look like a bad girlfriend."

"And you're making me look like a bad wife. I don't need this. I've already got Raj for that," Bernadette ranted.

"I'm sorry. I had no intention of making you guys look bad. I didn't even think Sheldon would bring something like that up to his friends," Amy said.

"Well, while you're all lovey-dovey with your boyfriend, the two of us are in hell," Bernadette said.

Amy frowned. "I wouldn't call it 'lovey-dovey'." She thought for a moment and raised her eyebrows. "Wait. Shouldn't you be happy for me? I'm the only one here who isn't getting laid."

Bernadette looked like she wanted to say something, but she immediately closed her mouth.

"Oh, Amy. You two are sleeping over at your apartment on weekends now. It must be pretty disappointing that you're not sleeping together," Penny pointed out.

"Thanks a lot, Bestie," Amy said sarcastically.

"Do you want me to talk to him? I mean, when a girl makes advances toward a guy and she gets turned down, it's a little soul shattering," Penny went on.

The brunette tilted her head and thought for a moment. She hadn't really made advances toward Sheldon since this whole thing started. But surely things wouldn't have been any different than other times she made advances toward him.

"How would you know, Penny? Have you ever been turned down by someone you've made advances toward?" Bernadette asked.

"No. I just imagine that it would be pretty hurtful, okay? Be quiet. You're making things worse," Penny told her.

"How am _I_ making things worse?" the microbiologist asked. "You're the one who called it 'soul shattering'."

"Well, come on. It's messed up! It's so obvious that he likes her," Penny whined.

Bernadette adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. "I still think it's kinda sweet. I mean, maybe he's saving himself for marriage."

"Let's all be honest about something, alright? _If_ Sheldon ever gets married, it's gonna be to Amy," Penny told her.

The two looked at Amy and finally noticed that she wasn't saying anything.

"Ames, you okay?" Penny asked.

Amy shook herself out of her daze and looked at the girls. "I haven't really been making any advances. I've been waiting for him to make all the moves. Do you think I should?"

Bernadette frowned. "Oh, Amy."

"You mean this whole time, you haven't tried anything with him? No flirty eyes? No sweet talk? No feeling him up?" Penny asked. She shook her head. "If I can pick up a dropped fork in a room full of guys and he's the only one who doesn't look twice, what makes me think any of that other stuff would work?"

Amy thought about when they were cleaning up Sheldon's spilled milk and he was gawking at her exposed cleavage. She simply smiled. No need to bring that up right now.

"Yeah, Sheldon's not like regular guys," Bernadette reminded Penny. She looked at Amy. "I'm afraid we can't give you much advice with someone like your boyfriend."

(Maybe Sheldon is more like regular guys than anyone thinks,) Amy thought. (But that's a secret best kept for private moments between the two of us.)

* * *

Vintage game night... There was yet another argument going on inside apartment 4A.

"Sheldon! There is no strategy for playing Gauntlet. You either hit the swarms of enemies with your weapon or you run into them until they die," Amy heard Leonard say through the door.

"Are you kidding? Of course there are strategies. That's why there are four different heroes to choose from," she heard Sheldon explain. "Not to mention holding onto keys instead of opening every door you come across. And do I have to bring up the plethora of choices regarding which exit to take?"

She should have known better than to try to understand whatever it was they were talking about.

"Then may I bring up a certain obvious strategy? Do not shoot the food!" Raj could be heard nearly yelling.

"Hey. It's not my fault. Those arrows have a mind of their own," Howard said.

Amy simply shook her head and knocked on the door.

"That's the same thing you said in the stages where your attacks hurt other players," Leonard said as his voice neared the door. He opened it and smiled at her. "Hi, Amy. Come on in."

"Hello, Leonard," Amy greeted.

"Hey, Amy," both Raj and Howard said with a wave.

"Hello, Rajesh. Hello, Howard." She waited for her greeting from Sheldon, but yet again, it wasn't immediate. "Hello, Sheldon."

Her boyfriend hung his head and busied himself with studying his fingernails. "Hello...," he greeted quietly.

Deja vu. She felt this had all happened before. The other guys were just looking at Sheldon, so their expressions didn't tell her much. "Um, are you ready to go?" Amy finally asked.

"Excuse me for just a moment. I have to talk to Leonard," Sheldon said.

Leonard sighed. "Not this again. Whatever's bothering you, shouldn't you just talk to her instead?"

After a moment, Sheldon looked at Amy, then back at Leonard. "No. Come on." The taller physicist headed toward Leonard's bedroom.

It was Leonard's turn to hang his head. "Why me?" he murmured as he followed his roommate.

When Amy turned to face the other two guys, they were both staring at her. "Now what?" she asked.

"Whatever you said to him after we talked to you seemed to work," Raj whispered to Amy. "But he's still weird."

"Oh, he was like that before he met her," Howard told him.

"No, I'm talking about whenever we brought her up in conversation and he'd change the subject," Raj elaborated.

Amy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we'd talk about inviting you over for dinner or just to hang out. And every time we'd bring your name up, he'd just casually start talking about something else," Raj told her.

"Yeah, but it's not just her. He does that when we talk about a lot of things," Howard pointed out. "It's nothing out-of-the-ordinary."

Amy thought for a while. "Hm. Howard thinks it's normal Sheldon-like behavior. So, Rajesh, if you thought that something weird was happening with this, why didn't you text me? You said you'd keep me updated." She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

Raj cringed. "Sorry. I've been busy all week. I guess it slipped my mind."

The neurobiologist narrowed her eyes at Raj and was about to say something else when Leonard pushed Sheldon out of his bedroom.

All eyes were on them as Leonard said, "...and if you don't get this sorted out, don't bother coming back to this apartment."

(That guy sounds like an angry wife sometimes,) Amy thought, chuckling internally. But she couldn't help wondering what they were talking about.

"Really? You're kicking me out of my own apartment?" Sheldon asked his roommate, clutching his messenger bag and overnight bag straps.

"Take care of it and you won't have to worry about whether or not I'm kicking you out," Leonard told him.

"But—" Sheldon began.

Leonard simply pointed a stern finger toward the door.

"Come on, Sheldon. We have an exciting weekend ahead," Amy said.

Sheldon finally turned all of his attention to Amy. "That's true. You had an early introduction to the Borg collective and now you get to see what all the fuss is about."

Amy followed her boyfriend to the door, but she looked back at the guys and gave them a funky hand gesture that she hoped would translate as a sign to text her later.

* * *

"So, tell me the truth, Sheldon," Amy began as she was driving them to her apartment.

Sheldon gave her a nervous, almost timid look. "Yes?"

As much as she wanted to know what he and Leonard had been talking about, she didn't want him to be tempted to jump right out of her car into traffic. She also wanted to talk about what happened during their Kolinahr session on Monday, but again, Sheldon in traffic.

"The Borg basically end up finding Starfleet because of what Q did to the _Enterprise_ in that one episode, don't they?" Amy finally asked.

She didn't have to look at him to know that he'd relaxed.

"I wouldn't say that Q was the ultimate cause, but that definitely sped up the process. And in a way, Q actually helped them by showing them what it was they would eventually face," Sheldon explained.

"Wait. You're not a fan of Q, are you? He's quite obviously a villain and all-around troublemaker," Amy said.

"I don't know. I think he's just curious. Curiosity is the mother of science, after all."

"But that doesn't give him the right to terrorize the people he comes across."

"Well, he doesn't need the _right_ to do it. He's got reality bending powers. Who's gonna stop him? Besides, weren't you recently terrorizing a certain monkey for a fear study in the name of science?" Sheldon asked.

Well, there was nothing she could say after that. She looked at Sheldon out of the corner of her eye and he looked pretty pleased with himself. Even her attempted experimentation with her own boyfriend was a leaning toward something sinister. Was she some sort of sadist?

"By the way, point: Cooper," Sheldon added.

* * *

After letting them into her apartment, Amy followed Sheldon to her bedroom and she stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her arms folded. She watched him set his things in the chair next to her bed and he slowly opened his messenger bag and pulled out a folder.

Her heart began thudding mercilessly in her chest and she took a deep breath. (This is it,) she thought. (He's revised the Relationship Agreement.)

"This is the new Relationship Agreement," Sheldon announced quietly.

The last time Sheldon needed to talk to Leonard, it had been about the Relationship Agreement. Perhaps that was what he'd talked to Leonard about this time as well.

She took a seat on the bed as her boyfriend handed her the contract and sat beside her. As she browsed through the papers, everything looked exactly the same except for one huge difference. Everything that involved any intimacy between them whatsoever had completely and utterly vanished.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Ha ha haaaaa! Perhaps _I_ am the villain! No, seriously, I've got some fun things planned for the next chapter. Mostly discussions about questions Amy wants answered, song lyric meanings, and what this new Relationship Agreement means for them. So stay tuned. Thanks for reading and please reply.


	15. Abandon Reason for Madness

a/n: Welcome back. Thanks for your loyalty and love. I'm liking that Pleasure Party idea, but I can't possibly bring myself to write it. They seriously need to do that for the show though (in a modest and tasteful way, of course). That would kill. Anyway, here's chapter 15, as promised.

a/n: I didn't fit as much into this chapter as I wanted, but it's all on its way.

disclaimer: The song herein again does not belong to me. I also can't remember the song lyric website I got the lyrics from, so just to let you know, that's not my doing either.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 15: Abandon Reason for Madness**_

She took a seat on the bed as her boyfriend handed her the contract and sat beside her. As she browsed through the papers, everything looked exactly the same except for one huge difference. Everything that involved any intimacy between them whatsoever had completely and utterly vanished.

Amy couldn't help feeling sad about these revisions. She would have felt better about them had the contract at least mentioned the fact that when they watched movies or TV shows at her apartment, they would share her throw. Was that no longer allowed? And he'd been so diligent with his hand-holding lately. It had almost become natural for them to do it.

All gone. Well, this was what she'd asked for before all this Next Generation Madness stuff started. And sometimes you get what you ask for. She just stared at the papers for a long time and she could feel Sheldon watching her. Should she refuse to sign it the way she'd refused to sign the first NGM Agreement?

(_"As he wants it, so it will be"_,) one of her demons quoted from the last song she'd learned.

(Right,) she told herself. She nodded and signed her name in the appropriate place. "There." When she looked up at her boyfriend, he was still simply looking at her.

Once she handed the contract to him, he nodded, signed in the space he was to sign and then notarized it. "There," he repeated after her. "Now that we've taken care of official business, we can get on with NGM."

Amy nodded, attempting to look pleased with what they'd just done. Talk about a mood killer. She'd wanted to play the new song she'd learned for him, but she didn't have it in her right this minute. "Would you like a beverage?"

"Tea, please," Sheldon told her.

She stood and headed toward the kitchen, and she could feel her boyfriend following her yet again. What she really needed right now was not tea, but a good crying session. She wanted to bawl her eyes out just for a little while. As a matter of fact, her eyes already felt the sting of threatening tears, so she took a deep breath, hoping to keep them at bay.

While she put on the kettle for their tea, Sheldon had gone into the cabinet and pulled out some of his cookies. He was already munching on one when he offered her the package. "Snickerdoodle?"

Something about that made her smile. "No, thank you. Trying to slim down, remember?"

"Of course I remember. But that's poppycock. You're perfect just the way you are," Sheldon told her.

Amy finally stopped staring at the kettle and looked at her boyfriend, speechless.

"Ever since you got rid of that awful lip gloss, you've been all aces in my book," Sheldon went on. He thought for a moment and shook his head. "Actually, there is one thing I think I would change about you..."

She frowned. He'd just given her a compliment and a pretty good one at that. Now he was taking it back?

"Your glasses are a little too—what's the word I'm looking for?—_right_. They accent the eyes and we don't want other guys getting the wrong idea," he finally said.

(What?) Amy asked herself. Her boyfriend had a myriad of ways to confuse her, and this was one of his newer ones.

"May I suggest sunglasses?" he asked.

She looked at him for a long time and he was looking back at her in a way she didn't quite recognize. Sheldon had a lot of strange ways of doing things. He had a very roundabout approach to humor. So what was this? Was it possible that he was attempting to flirt with her in a roundabout way?

The kettle whistled and she chuckled and shook her head. "No, you may not." She shouldn't try to read too much into the things Sheldon said.

* * *

The two would watch a few episodes before bed, as usual, and to Amy's surprise, Sheldon had grabbed the blanket for them to share. She really shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but she was confused.

"Should we really be doing this? It's not in the contract," Amy said.

"It wasn't in either contract before, nevertheless, we engaged in the activity," Sheldon told her, offering her one side of the throw.

Amy raised her eyebrows and took the blanket so she could cover up.

"Besides, there are no guidelines prohibiting it," he told her, his eyes glued to the blank TV screen.

She wasn't really sure what to think. She needed to collect further data before formulating a conclusion. And as soon as she started the DVD and placed the remote back on the coffee table, her further data came in. Sheldon immediately took her hand in his and kept his eyes on the TV. Holding her hand was no longer required by either agreement, yet there were no restrictions regarding hand-holding either. Her boyfriend had just created the ultimate loophole.

* * *

After three episodes, Amy still wasn't tired. Her pulse had been pounding too madly and she couldn't calm down once she found out that Sheldon was still willing to touch her even after they'd strickened physical contact from both contracts entirely. A grin tugged at her lips and she watched her boyfriend stand.

"Well, it's getting late. We've got an early day ahead of us tomorrow," Sheldon told her.

She did notice, however, that he wouldn't look at her. Was he embarrassed? Did he feel guilty? He was so hard to read sometimes.

"You're right," Amy said, hoping she could at least get him to look at her if she said something. "Have a good night, Sheldon."

"And a good night to you as well, Amy."

But alas, he did not. And he left the room without even looking back.

She was supposed to be disappointed by his actions just now, but how could she be disappointed when he'd held her hand? There were no more excuses. There was nothing forcing either of them to fulfill certain conditions written beforehand. He'd done it because he wanted to.

Amy was so giddy that she could barely sit still. She hadn't satisfied herself since Monday morning and she felt as though she was long overdue, especially with this new excitement coursing through her veins. But maybe, just maybe, she could use this excitement constructively to help birth another one of her fantasies.

Yes, she grabbed her laptop and opened it. She'd thought about something she could write about while she was writing her last story, but what was it? Of course! She'd tried to talk Sheldon into playing D&D again so they could play out another love spell. Writing out her own version of their love spell might actually work out.

_Sheldon was staring down at the d20 and Amy could tell that he was wondering what to do next. They had removed each other's armor, yet were practically fully clothed in their under-armor. He'd pulled some rather admirable moves out of his hat, considering he didn't know much about intimacy. Amy was beginning to wonder where he was getting all of his information despite his lack of interest in the topic. Then again, the guy had watched a lot of movies over time and some of them were bound to have intimate scenes._

_ But it wasn't his turn. It was her turn and while she'd read plenty of romance novels and watched lots of romance movies, she couldn't be sure what might prompt Sheldon to completely end this little game they were playing._

_ She decided to play it safe for now. "I...kiss your neck...just above the collarbone. And I lick it. And I playfully nibble at it." There. She'd just been nibbled and now it was his turn to be nibbled. Innocent enough._

Okay, so in this story, they were only talking about what they were doing to each other. This would end up being a little less involved than her last stories. Yet somehow she could already feel her temperature rising. She would just have to ignore it. Kolinahr was the answer for when she started to feel overwhelmed. Right now, she would use it to her advantage in her writing.

_"Um...I...run my fingers through your hair? And then move them to your...," Sheldon began. A roll of the die and his answer was, "...eyes."_

_ (Damn those single digit numbers!) Amy thought. She shook her head. "Don't you think it's about time we ditch the die?"_

_ Sheldon finally looked up at her. "But this is how the game is played. Without the die, we're just...talking dirty to each other."_

_ Amy's face warmed and her eyes widened. "M-maybe we should try that."_

_ Sheldon looked at her strangely and furrowed his brow. "We're getting out of character here. Shouldn't we complete the game?"_

This was terrible! Her story version of Amy was just as bad as she was in real life. She giggled to herself about that.

_"Sorry. Sorry," Amy said. She took a deep breath. "Um...I push you down on the ground? And I...straddle your hips, slowly rocking my...pelvis against yours." She blushed deep red and couldn't look at her boyfriend. She knew she would scare him off if she used certain words, but she still felt as if she were jumping the gun with that last attack. "Uhhhh, what do you do?"_

_ There was a long silence and Amy was sure that Sheldon was finished. She'd crossed the line and she couldn't repair the resulting damage that had been done._

_ But to her surprise, he began to speak. "I...um...put my hands on your..." A roll of the die decided, "...hips? Hm. That's a little too convenient. Mayhap I should roll again."_

_ "No, no. It's fine. What else?" Amy beckoned, finally looking at her boyfriend. His eyes were fixed on his hands and she wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a slight flushing of his cheeks and ears. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part._

_ "Yes, well, my hands are on your hips and I...thrust my pelvis up to meet yours," Sheldon murmured._

_ "Wow. We're not even naked yet. Maybe we should finish removing our clothes," Amy suggested, her breathing a little erratic. "I slide off whatever under armor you're wearing and hope that you're willing to do the same to me." She watched as Sheldon's hand twitched._

_ Her boyfriend reached for the die and gave it a roll. He nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "I remove the remainder of your garments."_

Whoa! Why did this seem even hotter than the other stuff she'd written? Was it the fact that she hadn't relieved her desires in a while? There was no way she would be able to go on with this story tonight. She put away her laptop and took a deep breath. Kolinahr was the answer.

* * *

Kolinahr didn't work. Amy had taken a shower, but had decided to leave Gerard out of it. The last thing she needed right now was to be reprimanded by her boyfriend about pleasuring herself while he was in the apartment.

And too soon the morning had arrived with Sheldon standing over her with his bowl of cereal.

"It's almost time for Dr. Who," Sheldon informed her.

The familiarity of that phrase was somewhat comforting to her. She sat up and watched Sheldon sit beside her. "Did you sleep well?" she asked.

Her boyfriend sighed and shook his head. "It must be that waterbed of yours."

She hadn't bothered the temperature this time. What could have happened now? "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have the couch? The one time you slept here you seemed comfortable. You even slept with your head toward the door."

"I think I'm just having trouble getting used to your bed. I don't know. I guess I could try sleeping on the couch tonight," Sheldon said with a groan.

"It won't be so bad. You've done it before. Now, you should get to your Dr. Who while I take care of my morning ablutions. I've got a surprise for you when I come back."

The physicist looked confused, but he turned on the television, found the proper channel and went about enjoying his breakfast anyway.

* * *

The ending credits for Dr. Who rolled and Amy went straight to her harp when she came out of the bathroom. Sheldon simply watched her from his seat on the couch.

"I've learned another song from your game," was all Amy had to say to bring a smile to Sheldon's face.

The physicist immediately hopped to his feet and rushed over to stand beside her. "Really? I was sure you'd forgotten since you didn't mention it in any of your texts. Oh, Amy. You're the best. Which song? Which song?"

Her boyfriend was behaving like a child on Christmas morning.

Amy didn't bother to answer. She simply began playing the intro to the song.

Sheldon gasped quietly. "Easy Living," he whispered.

—

Living for you is easy living

It's easy to live when you're in love

And I'm so in love

There is nothing in life but you

I never regret the years that I'm giving

They're easy to give when you're in love

I'm happy to do whatever I do for you

For you maybe I'm a fool

But it's fun

People say you rule me with one wave of your hand

Darling, it's grand

They just don't understand

Living for you is easy living

It's easy to live when you're in love

And I'm so in love

There's nothing in life but you

—

Honestly, the past few years with Sheldon hadn't been easy in the least, but if she had them to do all over again, she'd do everything exactly the same.

"That was wonderful," Sheldon said with a sigh. "All those great gaming memories."

A swing and a miss. She'd hoped he would hone in on the lyrics. She decided after his comment that she'd been hoping for too much.

With a frown Amy just stared at her harp strings. "I'm glad you liked it." She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice.

Strangely enough, he picked up on that right away. "What's wrong? I really thought it was good. Even when you made mistakes, you recovered nicely," he told her.

"It's not that."

"I thought your singing was nice. I mean, it wasn't spectacular, but whose is when you compare it to Billie Holiday's?" Sheldon asked.

Amy finally looked at Sheldon and narrowed her eyes a bit. She probably shouldn't have done that because he was standing there looking genuinely concerned. (Maybe I really am a fool,) she thought. (If I explain to him why I was drawn to this song, he'll call me a hippy.)

"No, it's just that—" Amy began. She stopped and smiled sadly. "Oh, never mind. 'I'm happy to do whatever I do for you'."

Sheldon finally smiled again. "That was from the song you just sang. You're such a little vixen, Amy Farrah Fowler."

She watched him gesture for her to follow him and she did so. As they took a seat on the couch together, Sheldon grabbed the remote.

"Will you play it again for me later?" he asked quietly.

Amy nodded even though he wasn't looking at her.

"Will you play both songs for me later?"

She smiled. "Of course, Sheldon."

* * *

Their episode watching, blanket sharing and hand holding went on until it was getting pretty close to lunchtime and Amy couldn't take it anymore. They needed desperately to talk. There had been changes to the Relationship Agreement yet things seemed exactly the same as they were before. During their confessions on the last day of last weekend's NGM, Sheldon had admitted to wanting an excuse to hold her hand and the Relationship Agreement was his excuse.

Amy let go of Sheldon's hand, stopped the DVD and turned to him. "Sheldon, we need to talk."

Her boyfriend sighed. "Ho boy. I knew this was coming." He stared at the coffee table as he spoke. "While Kolinahr doesn't always work, I only...do _that_...when it's absolutely necessary for health and well-being. Except once. Once I considered doing it for money, but that was out of a need for faster downloads."

Hold it! He wasn't giving her a chance to speak, yet she wasn't sure if she wanted to say anything. She was almost certain that he was talking about masturbation, but she couldn't be too sure. Is that something he would do for money? That just didn't seem very Sheldon-like.

(_The question should be: Why was that the first thing he thought about?_) all of her demons asked.

(Good question! I almost missed that,) Amy thought.

Sheldon shook his head and flopped back in the couch, still refusing to look at her. "It's a natural process really. I can talk about it freely with anyone else. Why do I have such a hard time talking about it with my own girlfriend? We talk about everything."

"We _don't_ talk about _everything_. That's the problem," Amy told him. "Every time I want to talk about personal or emotional things, you give me the 'hippy lecture'."

"Alright, calm down, hippy," Sheldon said.

"And there it is. We should talk. I think if we came clean about a few things, we'll both feel better about this relationship," Amy suggested.

"There's nothing wrong with our relationship," Sheldon said with an exasperated sigh.

She ignored his statement. "Let's start small and work our way up from there, okay?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes and finally looked at her for a long time. "I'm hungry. What's for lunch?"

Amy glared at him, but to her surprise, he glared right back. "I guess that's a start."

* * *

A pizza was ordered and the couple was waiting for it to be delivered. They'd both fallen silent, knowing full well that this conversation they were about to have was not going to be comfortable. The two sat on either side of the couch facing each other. Amy had been the one to suggest this talk, but she was finding it difficult to begin.

"Okay, I'll talk about some of the things I've been feeling lately," Amy said.

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Feelings. This is utterly ridiculous and completely beyond the scope of reason."

"Oh, please. You abandoned reason the day you asked me to be your girlfriend," Amy told him. When she saw that he was about to say something, she quickly held up her hand to stop him. "Now, think carefully about your next statement. You don't want to say something that we'll both regret."

"No, we're talking about _feelings_, here. Regrettable or not, we should talk about them. Asking you to be my girlfriend was the most logical thing I've ever done."

She hadn't expected that. She'd expected some snide remark about that particular event being a mistake he wished he'd never made. What he'd said instead was almost sweet.

"You were spending time with someone else when I wanted you to spend that time with me," he went on.

Heart flutters were what Amy was suffering from. Now, that was really sweet. If he wanted so much time with her, they should just move in together. Instead, he was always putting limits on the amount of time they spent together. Her boyfriend was such a weirdo.

"If I could have put my name on you, I would have," Sheldon continued.

Amy wondered if Sheldon realized that there was a way to actually "put his name on her". Mrs. Amy Farrah Cooper had a nice ring to it.

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Middle of a conversation? Really? I suck!

a/n: Anyway, please review. Chapter 16 coming soon.


	16. Madness in the Way

a/n: Hi, again. Thanks for the reviews! You guys are the best!

a/n: I really enjoyed writing that last chapter. It's not my favorite and it was in disarray, but it was a lot of fun. This one, however, was pretty difficult. Please let me know what you think.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 16: Madness in the Way**_

"If I could have put my name on you, I would have," Sheldon continued.

Amy wondered if Sheldon realized that there was a way to actually "put his name on her". Mrs. Amy Farrah Cooper had a nice ring to it.

"I'd need a bigger label maker so people can see it. Not that you can own a person. But now that you're my girlfriend, I get first consideration when it comes to how your time is allotted. How's that for talking about feelings?" he asked.

She gave a nod and a smile.

"Okay. That means we're done, right?"

Amy shook her head slowly. "We've only just begun."

Sheldon folded his arms and looked at the coffee table. "Rats."

"Now it's my turn," Amy told him. She thought for a minute. Where should she begin? There was so much she wanted to say to him, but finding a starting point proved difficult. "A few weeks ago, when I suggested Next Generation Madness, I also suggested that you and I not worry about intimacy. That we should cease attempts altogether. I thought that was what I wanted—"

To her surprise, Sheldon interrupted her with one simple question. "Why?"

"What?"

"Why did you want to stop? I thought we were doing quite well. We were holding hands. We'd worked our way up to hugging from time to time. There was even some casual touching," Sheldon explained, looking confused.

"But you don't like any of that stuff," Amy said. "I don't want to put you through something you don't like."

"When did I ever say I didn't like it? I've told you that I'm not a fan."

It was Amy's turn to look confused. "Isn't that what 'not a fan' means?"

"Not necessarily. I'm not a fan of Namor the Submariner, but I'll still read his comic books," Sheldon said.

"Well, I don't want it to be something you simply tolerate for my sake."

"Then what about when we started this whole Next Generation Madness? You didn't like Star Trek at all, yet you were willing to tolerate it for my sake."

Amy sighed shakily and she felt as though she might be on the verge of tears. "That's _completely_ different, Sheldon. Star Trek is a _thing_ and it's totally separate from _you_. Holding _my_ hand. Touching _me_. Kissing _me_. When I think about the fact that you don't like to do any of those things, it gives me the impression that you don't like _me_." She took a deep breath. She wasn't about to cry in front of him. The last thing either of them needed was an overly emotional emotion session.

"I never said that I didn't like them," Sheldon maintained.

"Well, you never say that you do. You're always talking about all these things you like so much. Comic books, video games, movies, physics—"

"You."

Amy stopped in the middle of her rant and looked at Sheldon for a long time.

"I've told you before that I like you."

She had to think for a while, but she did remember those words coming out of his mouth. Of course, those words were surrounded by the usual Sheldon Cooper brand of insults that he had no idea he was dishing out, but nevertheless, they were there. And she'd, of course, told him that she liked him too. It was really the only time she'd said it to him, so how could she expect him to say it to her? As a matter of fact, along with his asking her to be his girlfriend, he'd initiated some pretty big milestones in their relationship.

"I'm not gonna say it all the time, though. I'm not some sort of hippy," Sheldon went on.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Of course you're not."

"Does that mean we can stop all of this 'talking about feelings' nonsense?"

"No."

"Drat."

"Now, my point was that I didn't want to be hurt anymore. If we were never going to get to the point of intimacy I was ready for, then we should just stop trying altogether," Amy continued. "I made that decision without consulting you. It was selfish, I know. And I'm sorry, but that's the way I felt." She looked at Sheldon for a while, then asked, "How did you feel when I told you that?"

Sheldon just sat there looking at the table for a while. "I told you how I felt. I was glad to be freed from all that pressure."

"Yet you went back to holding my hand. Why? And don't tell me it was because of the Relationship Agreement because I told you that none of it was necessary."

"I told you that too. When we were sitting close together, I thought I should hold your hand."

"But we've sat close together before and you were never this enthusiastic about holding my hand," Amy said.

Her boyfriend continued to stare at the table. "Well, I felt like we had a connection we'd never had before."

(Huh?) Amy couldn't even say out loud.

"You said you might write a space opera with me," he said quietly.

Was that what this was all about? The Sheldon version of romance was coming her way all because she'd told him that she would _possibly_ join him in the writing of a science fiction story? Unbelievable.

Sheldon sighed and looked at her. "All of this talk about feelings is difficult, unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Can we stop now?"

"Just one more thing and I'll let it go for right now," Amy said. This next topic was a doozy and she knew it, but it was something she needed to know. She took a deep breath and almost decided not to bring it up. How could she? It was one of the most embarrassing topics she'd ever discussed with anyone. Well, it wasn't so bad when she discussed it with the girls, but this was her boyfriend. It was her turn to stare at her coffee table. "You already know that when I get 'excited', I..."

She saw Sheldon shift nervously in his seat out of the corner of her eye, yet she couldn't look directly at him.

"Well, I...," she tried to go on. She cleared her throat. What was her problem? The first time she'd told him about this, she'd been straight forward about it. This time it wasn't so simple. "I relieve a little tension, sometimes with the aid of my electric toothbrush."

Sheldon seemed to tense at the word "toothbrush" and she finally looked back at him. His eyes were fixed on the coffee table once again.

"I know I kind of assumed it before, but I'd like to ask now. Do you become aroused when you think about what I was doing in the bathroom that day?" Her heart was trying to hammer its way out of her chest. She wasn't sure what she wanted to hear. Was she ready for the disappointment of a negative reply? If he said yes, then what? She really should have thought this through before she asked.

There was a long pause and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of their own breathing—both more exaggerated than usual.

"I don't know that this is an appropriate question," her boyfriend said.

Amy sighed. Typical Sheldon. "Fine. I'll ask it like this, then: When you think about what I was doing in there, what exactly are you thinking?"

Sheldon thought for a moment. "I'd like to go back to the first question."

She nodded and waited patiently for an answer.

"Um... What do I have to do to _not_ answer this question? I feel like it's one of those 'girl questions' that will be used against me no matter what the answer is."

"In that case, every question a woman ever asks is a 'girl question'," Amy told him.

(_Give him a chance to get out of it. But make it worth your while_,) one of her demons whispered.

"But I'll give you one more option. You can answer one of the two questions I've posed or...you can kiss me," Amy went on.

Sheldon looked at her, surprise written on his face. "Kiss you?"

Amy nodded. Unfortunately, there was a knock on her door and she sighed again. "Pizza. Think about it while I take care of this." She grabbed her purse and went to the door. As she paid for their pizza, she could practically hear the wheels in Sheldon's head turning. Could this be considered blackmail?

To her surprise, Sheldon followed her as she took the pizza to the kitchen. "Alright, Amy. I've decided. But you have to do something for me."

She hadn't expected him to make his decision that quickly. She also hadn't expected there to be conditions for his answer. With a nonchalant opening of the pizza box, Amy asked, "What's that?"

"You have to promise to take our Kolinahr lessons seriously."

That was unexpected. She didn't even think he wanted to have Kolinahr lessons with her anymore, especially after what happened the last time. "Okay."

"Fine. Then I've decided to kiss you," Sheldon told her.

Amy was astounded by his decision. She was sure that she'd chosen something that would prompt him to answer one of the two questions she'd asked. (I should have given him the option of making love to me. I missed out on a real opportunity there.) However, she couldn't say that she was disappointed. Her boyfriend was really going to kiss her. This was better than getting an answer to one of her questions.

Yet he was just standing there, looking her over.

She didn't want to rush him, but he wasn't making any moves. If her heart had been hammering before, it had surely broken free now and was making its way down the street. Without meaning to, she was staring at his lips. And when she saw his tongue dart out to moisten them, she thought she might pass out.

"How should we proceed?" he finally asked.

"How?" she heard herself barely breathe.

"Yes. Are there parameters? Estimated pressure? Approximate duration? Who should initiate it? Should we do it while standing or sitting?" Sheldon asked.

"No parameters. No planning. Just kiss me, right here, right now. Do whatever feels right."

She watched Sheldon's lips purse together in a thin line and he appeared to be in deep thought. "I can't imagine that anything about it will feel right without guidelines."

"You did fine when you were holding my hand. And you did that on your own," Amy reasoned.

Sheldon nodded. "I suppose you have a point."

Amy was beginning to lose her patience with her boyfriend. She thought about calling the whole thing off and simply demanding an answer to one of her questions instead.

"I still think we need a course of action, but if you insist," Sheldon said.

He moved a little closer to her, his height becoming staggeringly apparent yet again. Dipping his head down, he gently, but only briefly pressed his lips against hers. When it ended she stood there with her eyes closed, a small smile tugging at her lips, wondering how such a simple and short-lived thing could set her blood aflame.

As if that hadn't been astonishing enough, a second kiss, equally brief yet less gentle was planted upon her lips. And she didn't have time to respond or even open her eyes before a third lengthier kiss followed. The feel of his lips moving against hers made her feel light-headed and the only thing she could think to do was grab onto something. Of course the kitchen counter was right there, but her hand seemed more interested in his shirt tail. Her body felt an undeniable urge to press itself against her boyfriend's, but she had to resist.

Her grip on his shirt tightened as she unconsciously made a pleased sound.

Sheldon quickly pulled away and took a deep breath. "The pizza's getting cold."

She looked at her hand, still holding onto the bottom of his shirt and she frowned when she saw that her boyfriend's hands had been gripping the sides of his own pants the entire time. After letting go of his shirt, she cleared her throat and murmured, "Sorry."

"No need to apologize. It's not _that_ cold yet," he said.

He thought she was talking about pizza?

* * *

On returning to NGM, Amy thought that after all of Sheldon's forward momentum, he would go back to holding her hand while they watched the show. Unfortunately, it was not so. She didn't understand why. Their kiss—kiss_es_ actually, as there had been more than one—had gone well. She hadn't even gone to the bathroom for a self-abuse session, which she knew would have made him uncomfortable.

(To be honest, I should have,) she thought. (As a matter of fact, it would be well within my rights. Besides, it's not like he answered my questions. And what was that about masturbating for money?)

She looked at her boyfriend as he sat awkwardly under their shared throw. He hadn't said anything since lunch. Maybe he was all talked out from expressing his feelings. Oh, who was she kidding? Sheldon never got tired of hearing himself talk.

She hadn't really gotten all of the answers she'd wanted, but she felt greedy asking for even more from him. He'd kissed her, after all. Those kisses had been sweet and chaste, yet the feelings they'd birthed were desperate and lewd. She wished he had delved deeper. She wished she could have felt his tongue inside her mouth. She wished his body would have pressed tightly against hers. She wished his hands would have wandered about her body—

"Amy? Are you alright?" Sheldon asked, looking at her strangely.

Blinking out of her fantasy world, Amy said, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you seem a little restless."

Amy frowned. "Of course I'm restless. I haven't been given a chance to recover from everything that's happened today."

Her boyfriend sighed. "By 'recover' I hope you don't mean 'brush your teeth'."

Nail on the head, but she wasn't about to admit it. She would have to lie her way out of this one, but she wasn't sure she had it in her. So instead, she would have to try a reversal. It was he who had brought it up, after all, so he was obviously thinking about something along those lines. "Why do you say that?"

"It's a logical assumption. You told me that when you get excited that was what you usually do," Sheldon defended.

"Then you're assuming I was excited?"

"You said you were restless."

Wow. He was a difficult one to crack. He was using everything she said against her. There was no way she would be able to pin any of this on him. "Oh, fine. You're right. I can't deny it and I won't deny it. But if you'd left well enough alone with one little kiss, I might not be in the condition I'm in now. What made you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Kiss me so many times."

" 'So many times'?" he asked.

Amy narrowed her eyes at Sheldon. "Yes! You kissed me three times!"

Sheldon looked at her strangely. "Are you sure? Because I only remember one. And I have an eidetic memory, so of the two of us, I'd put my money on me."

What was this guy talking about? She remembered three distinct kisses. "Our lips were no longer in contact. There were three kisses." She even flipped the throw off of both of them so she could make her hand gesture, holding up three fingers.

"But your eyes didn't open, so that was only one."

His logic was a bit skewed. "So, you're telling me that a kiss hasn't ended unless someone's eyes are opened? Because if you knew my eyes were closed, then _your_ eyes were open. That makes it three."

"No, I'm saying that when _both_ parties' eyes open, then the kiss has ended. That makes it one."

She looked at him for a long time and he simply raised his eyebrows at her. (Where was he getting this definition of a kiss...? Are we really arguing over what a kiss is? Two people who have little to no experience?) she thought.

And then she smirked. She knew how to fix this little tiff. She quickly leaned over and pecked Sheldon on the lips. "Then according to your definition, that wasn't a kiss. Neither parties' eyes were closed."

Sheldon's lips disappeared into his mouth and he looked at his hands on his lap.

"By the way, point: Fowler."

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: It's like these two have no brains! If Sheldon's so opposed to answering Amy's question, isn't it only right to assume that the answer is yes? This is driving me crazy!

a/n: Anyway, thank you so much for reading. And just to let you know, Hippy Amy will be back. They haven't really gotten anywhere on their discussions. Please tell me what you think so far.


	17. All the World is Mad

a/n: Thank you again so much for the reviews! Sorry I didn't update sooner. I usually try to update twice a week, but that didn't happen this time. To be honest, I've been distracted by another silly little story idea. I may put out that oneshot pretty soon...if I'm brave enough.

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 17: All the World is Mad**_

While grabbing a package of post-lunch Red Vines out of her cabinet, Amy noticed that her cell phone was in there. She frowned and picked it up. (Obviously a brain-freeze moment. I must have done that when I was making tea recently. I don't even remember having my cell phone with me. What was I thinking?) she wondered to herself. There were two missed messages. Since Sheldon was still changing DVDs, she thought she'd read them.

She opened the last message first: [_Leonard told us that Sheldon is concerned as to why you were asking about his...'masturbatory' habits. I can't believe I just typed 'Sheldon' and 'masturbatory' in the same sentence. I'm a little too weirded out for further comments. Good luck with that. Howard...and Raj._]

(What has Sheldon been telling Leonard?) Amy thought. She frowned. (Kinda wish I'd had this information before our talk...)

She shrugged and opened the prior message: [_Hey, Ames! Me and Bernadette were talking and we think we came up with an answer to your problems. You said that you usually sleep on the sofa while he sleeps in your bed, right? Well, you should sneak into your room while he's sleeping and climb into bed with him. It's high time you start making some moves._]

Amy frowned at that message. That had somewhat been her initial thought on the matter when this whole thing first started. There were two problems with that, however. The first was the fact that Sheldon would be sleeping on the couch tonight since he was having trouble with her waterbed. The second was _how_ was that supposed to solve her problems?

She decided to text the girls first. [_I'm not sure I want to do something like that. I've already deceived him enough over the past few weeks. But he did kiss me today. Three times! I'll give you the details on girls' night. AFF._]

Even after a few moments of consideration, she wasn't sure what she should say to Howard and Raj. [_Thanks for the info, guys. Sorry you had to be exposed to so much unpleasantness. AFF._]

Now what? Without thinking, she put her phone back in the cabinet, grabbed the Red Vines and headed back to the couch where her boyfriend sat patiently waiting for his snack.

"You know, thanks to all that hippy-dippy foolishness, we're behind on episodes," Sheldon said as Amy took her seat next to him.

He _would_ consider it foolishness. "It had to happen, Sheldon," Amy said, handing Sheldon his treats.

"To what end? Absolutely nothing was accomplished."

Amy thought for a moment, then smirked. "I found out that you think a kiss is defined by whether or not a person has his or her eyes opened."

"Well, in chess a move isn't complete until the player removes his or her hand from the piece."

"Then even by that logic, a kiss ends when the lips are no longer in contact."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "You can't let me be right just this once?"

"You're always right about everything. Can't someone else be right for a change?"

"I want you to remember that statement."

Amy looked confused. "What statement?"

"That I'm always right about everything. When we're ninety years old and we're in the middle of an argument, I'll bring it to your attention again."

Should she be angry that he threatened to bring up her own statements against her later? Or should she be happy that he was so sure they'd be together over fifty years down the line?

"Sheldon, you only want to be right this time because you don't want to admit that you kissed me three times, even though our verbal agreement only called for one kiss," Amy pointed out.

Her boyfriend looked at her for a while, then turned toward the TV. "If you keep this up, we'll never get through this season." He picked up the remote and started the DVD.

Amy covered up with her side of the throw and smiled to herself. (Point: Fowler,) she thought.

* * *

Thankfully, Sheldon hadn't avoided holding her hand this time, but he sure wasn't in a hurry to do it. It took almost two full episodes before he reached out to her. She was so overjoyed that he'd taken her hand that she thought about giving him a kiss on the cheek. That wouldn't have gone over well at all.

As much as she was enjoying the show and the hand-holding, Amy half fell asleep during one of the later episodes and the images her dreams conjured were too good to be true. At one point one of her boyfriend's hands was caressing her body all over and he was kissing her just beneath her earlobe. What awoke her was the sound of her own voice breathing out a rather desperate sounding moan. She wondered whether she'd been making noise the whole time or if it had been just the one sound.

By this point, Sheldon no longer held her hand and when she looked at him, his eyes were glued to the TV screen. It was kinda dark by then, but she was able to see that his breathing was a little rapid and irregular. Was he angry? Offended? Embarrassed? She didn't have the gall to ask.

* * *

They'd eaten a dinner of leftover pizza in silence and, besides Sheldon's reminding her that it was time to do laundry, the two didn't speak. He was much too quiet and his expression was hard to read. Then again, it took two to hold a conversation, and she wasn't winning any prizes in that category either. She was too embarrassed after the way she'd awoken. (What must he think of me after something like that?) she asked herself. He'd obviously heard her. Considering the combination of his Vulcan hearing and the fact that she heard herself over the sounds of the television, there was no way he _didn't_ hear that lustful sound.

Would he even come back to her apartment with her to continue Next Generation Madness?

As soon as they arrived at Sheldon's apartment and she saw that no one was there, she put her hand on Sheldon's arm. "Please say something," she said to him.

Sheldon stopped and turned to Amy, but looked at her hand on his arm.

Amy quickly took her hand away. "Could you at least reprimand me a little? I don't know what to think when you're this quiet. You're never quiet. And when you are, I know there's something catastrophically amiss."

"What do you want me to say, Amy?" he asked quietly, still avoiding her eye. "Do you want me to tell you that you need more Kolinahr practice? Do you want me to tell you that you shouldn't succumb to your baser urges? Do you want me to tell you that everything's okay because you had no control over it?"

"I don't know. I don't know what I _want_ you to say. I just don't want you to shut me out completely," she said. She sighed. Simply hearing him speak was doing a lot more for her state of mind than the silence she had to endure earlier.

"Fine. All of the above," her boyfriend told her. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he turned and headed toward his room.

Amy took her usual seat on the couch and sighed again. Was she asking too much of him? While a lot of people tended to have trouble getting a handle on their emotions, Sheldon had spent over thirty years not having to deal with such things. Apparently, he'd never intended to deal with such things either. She was really lucky to be the first and hopefully only person to ignite such emotion in him. At least she had liked boys before, even though she didn't have her first experience with sexual arousal toward someone specific until Zack. From what she knew of Sheldon, he'd never even had any real interest in girls in any romantic way.

And that was why she needed to be patient with him. Not because he was difficult to deal with, but because in his own way, he was very fragile.

Sheldon came back with his laundry basket and he handed her the laptop fan he'd been giving her for the past couple of weeks.

Amy smiled at him. "Thank you." His innocence was strangely cute.

"Before I go, would you like a beverage?" he asked.

Things seemed to be back to normal.

"I'll help myself, if that's alright with you," Amy told him.

Her boyfriend gave a nod and left her there.

Yes, she just needed to be patient with him. She should just let him make all the moves once he was comfortable making them. That was the part she'd missed when she'd first decided that they shouldn't try to be intimate with each other anymore.

Amy grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and was about to open it when she heard the apartment door open. Penny, Leonard, Bernadette, Howard and Raj all barged in.

(What is all this?) Amy wanted to ask out loud. But she simply stood there, frozen in shock.

"Raj, you're on lookout," Penny ordered.

"Me? This is so not fair. Why can't Howard do it? He's the one who doesn't want to hear any of this," Raj whined.

"I don't care who does it, just get to it. The last thing we need is for him to come back unexpectedly," Penny told him.

Raj looked at Howard. "You're the one who said that if you hear the wrong thing, you could be scarred for life."

Howard rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Good. Give a whistle if he's coming back and we'll all hide in Leonard's room," Bernadette said, pushing her husband out the door.

Amy was still astounded, but she was finally able to ask, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hi, Amy. Sorry to show up unannounced—" Leonard began.

(What is he apologizing for? It's his apartment,) Amy thought.

Penny pushed Leonard out of the way. "Enough small talk. First, we want details." She waved for Bernadette to come closer.

The little microbiologist hustled over and stood next to Penny.

"Wh-what?" Amy asked.

"You couldn't have expected us to wait all those days until girls' night to hear about your kiss," Bernadette explained.

"Kiss_es_," Penny reminded her.

Bernadette nodded and both women stared at Amy, waiting for a response.

Raj sidled up on the girls to listen in.

This was a lot of pressure. Especially when they were in mixed company. Amy wasn't sure if Sheldon would appreciate having something so private relayed to such a large group.

"Don't clam up on us now," Bernadette said. "You were gonna tell us eventually. It's just a little earlier than you wanted."

"It's not the timing that's the issue. I was only planning on telling you and Penny," Amy said, looking at Leonard and Raj.

"If it makes you feel any better, Penny was gonna tell me as soon as you guys were done talking," Leonard interjected.

Raj nodded. "And Bernadette was going to tell Howard and Howard was going to tell me."

Both Bernadette and Penny nodded.

Amy shook her head. "I should always remember how fast gossip spreads throughout our social group." She adjusted her glasses and looked away. "There's not much to tell. I wanted him to answer some questions and I gave him the choice of either answering the questions or kissing me. He chose to kiss me. Only he didn't kiss me just once. He did it three times."

"I feel like we're not getting the whole story here," Penny said.

"That's the short version. Believe me, the long version is a lot less interesting," Amy told them.

"I somehow doubt that," Penny returned.

"I told you that Sheldon might actually be romantically happy," Raj put in.

Everyone looked at him.

"What? Everyone's so concerned that he's been acting weird or that he's losing his mind. I say that he's in love," Raj announced.

Everyone looked at Amy.

The neuroscientist's face warmed at the thought that Sheldon _might_ actually be in love with her.

"Or maybe he's just horny," Penny suggested with a shrug.

Amy's face went from warm to scorching. (Horny Sheldon? What would that even look like?) she thought.

"We're all just jumping to conclusions," Bernadette said. "Wouldn't it be easier to just ask him?"

Amy cleared her throat. "I've tried that already. It doesn't work."

The aspiring actress shook her head. "Of course he's not gonna tell _you_. _You're_ the one he's horny for." Penny turned to her boyfriend and raised her eyebrows. "Let's send someone he'll talk to openly about it."

Leonard, who had been standing with his arms folded and listening quietly, raised his eyebrows. "Who? Me? I am _not_ asking Sheldon if he's horny for Amy. Who knows how he'd react? I have to live with that guy, you know."

"Oh, come on. Take one for the team," Penny said. She walked over to the bespectacled physicist. "If you do, I'll—" She whispered something in his ear.

After Penny stepped back from him, Leonard looked at her for a long time. "R-really?" he asked.

Penny smiled and nodded slowly.

"Be right back!" Leonard told everyone. He was out of the apartment in a flash and everyone just watched him leave.

"So, Ames. What have you been asking Sheldon?" Penny asked.

Raj chuckled. "Besides whether he touches himself or not."

Bernadette and Penny gasped.

"Did you really ask him that? I thought Howie was just making that up," Bernadette said.

Penny grinned. "Way to go, Amy! What did he say when you asked him?"

Amy's face turned impossibly redder. "I feel like this is getting too personal. We shouldn't be talking about this."

"You're not gonna tell us? Even though he told Leonard what you asked?" Bernadette asked.

"Besides, it's just us girls here," Penny told her.

Raj nodded. "Yeah, just us girls."

Amy shook her head at Raj, then sighed. "Well, the first time I asked him, he left my apartment and wouldn't even let me drive him home. The next time I didn't even bring it up, but he told me that he only did it when it was necessary for 'health and well-being'. His words." She shrugged. "And something about doing it for money, but I don't know what that was all about."

Penny thought for a while, then laughed. "You know, when I first met Leonard and Sheldon when I was moving in, he _did_ say something about trying to masturbate for money. I never understood that. He came off as a weird guy, so I kind of ignored it."

"Was that about the time they went to the high IQ sperm bank?" Raj asked.

"What?" all three ladies nearly shouted.

Raj nodded again. "Yeah. That was years and years ago. They wanted some extra money so they could afford faster downloads in the apartment. It was actually Sheldon who sugg—"

Suddenly there was a loud whistle heard out in the hallway.

"That's him! We gotta hide!" Bernadette said, making a beeline for Leonard's bedroom.

Penny and Raj quickly followed.

Amy still stood in the kitchen, not really knowing what to do. She simply stared at the door when Sheldon made a hasty entrance, followed by both Leonard and Howard.

"Amy, are you okay?" Sheldon asked as he marched straight over to her.

"F-fine, Sheldon," Amy told him, though she wasn't sure why he'd asked her that.

"Alright. Where are the rest of you? I know you're here. Leonard already told me," Sheldon said.

The others slowly emerged from Leonard's bedroom.

The lanky physicist folded his arms. "Now, I'd like to set out a few rules..."

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: Some of you seemed surprised about that whole 'masturbating for money' thing. I know I didn't really go into much detail here, but that's straight from the pilot episode when they were at the high IQ sperm bank. As a matter of fact, when Sheldon said that he couldn't do it, Leonard said that Sheldon was a "semi-pro". :D

a/n: Anyway, as usual, thank you for reading. Again, I apologize for the delay. And please review.


	18. We're All Mad Here

a/n: Hey, I'm glad you guys seemed to like that last chapter. I do tend to end on a lot of cliffies, but that's because I usually can't find a good stopping point. Anyway, thanks for your continued support.

a/n: Okay, this chapter was supposed to be kinda serious, but it's not. And don't forget that most of the italics sections are Amy's story. Now, onward!

_**Concession**_

_**Chapter 18: We're All Mad Here**_

Sheldon stood before all of his friends, arms folded. "Now, I'd like to set out a few rules. 1) There are to be no more questions regarding anything surrounding the relationship between Amy and me..."

There was an eruption of jumbled objections from all of them, even Howard, and Sheldon was caught off guard.

(Honestly, that's not gonna fly. Even _I_ disagree with that,) Amy thought, yet she remained standing quietly beside her boyfriend.

"Wait just a minute," Sheldon said, waving his hands to get their attention. "I will _not_ stand by while Amy is subjected to the type of questioning I've suffered."

"You wouldn't be subjected to that type of questioning if you two just went ahead and had sex," a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice chimed in.

Sheldon looked around the room. "Who said that?"

Penny had ducked down behind Leonard and was using his Darth Vader voice changer.

(This is such an embarrassment. But it _is_ pretty hilarious,) Amy thought, giggling to herself.

"Sheldon, I am your father. And what father says goes. You seriously need to get laid," Darth Penny announced.

(Okay, this is going from "somewhat embarrassing and pretty hilarious" to "only slightly hilarious and way too embarrassing",) Amy said to herself.

Howard leaned close to his wife and whispered, "This is priceless."

"Yeah, we should've made a video," Bernadette whispered back.

"Leonard, you have the coolest girlfriend ever," Raj said, giving Leonard a high five.

Penny revealed herself and took a bow. "Thank you. Thank you."

Sheldon pouted a little at first, but then his expression quickly changed to one of arrogance. "Nuh uh! The 'coolest girlfriend ever' would write a science fiction story with her boyfriend. And she would play songs from Fallout 3 on her harp."

The guys in the room were impressed and practically crowded around Amy.

(If I knew this kinda thing would get me attention from boys, I would've done it a long time ago,) Amy thought.

Bernadette moved closer to Penny. "She's making us look bad."

Penny signaled for Bernadette to wait for a second. "Hey, Leonard. Remember that thing we talked about if you went and talked to Sheldon? Let's go to my apartment and get started."

Leonard abandoned all else. "See ya, fellas."

"Wait! I haven't finished setting out the rules," Sheldon told him.

"Send me an email," Leonard told him as he followed his girlfriend out the door.

Bernadette frowned and murmured, "Now _Penny's_ making me look bad." She looked at Howard. "Let's go home and have sex."

Howard raised his eyebrows. "Okay." He looked back at Sheldon. "Looks like our ladies are all cool in their own ways." He grabbed Bernadette's hand and rushed out the door.

Sheldon looked surprised. "Hold on. I haven't—"

Raj was still standing next to Amy. "I'd love to hear you play 'Happy Times' on your harp."

"Sorry, Rajesh. I don't know that one yet," Amy told him. "The only two songs I know are 'Crazy He Calls Me' and 'Easy Living'."

The astronomer grinned. "Oh, I see. Kind of like a serenade in disguise. Very clever. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that your efforts are wasted on this guy." He gestured toward Sheldon. "Still, I'd love to hear you play them."

Before Amy could say anything, Sheldon stepped between them. "Hey, get your own harp-wielding girlfriend."

Raj held up his hands in resignation. "Sorry. I'll just be going. It's always good to see you, Amy."

"You can't go. You have to listen to my rules regarding my relationship with Amy," Sheldon told him.

"You're probably going to send us _all_ emails anyway. You may as well do that and we can just skip the oral presentation," Raj said. He waved to them as he walked out of the apartment.

Sheldon just stood there staring at the door.

Amy wanted to apologize about all of this, but she wasn't sure if she should. Then he would know that this was all basically her fault. Of course, in a way, this was actually Sheldon's fault. He was always asking for Leonard's advice and would inadvertently give his roommate details about their weekends. Honestly, he couldn't be mad at her because of this.

Sheldon finally turned to her. "These rules apply to you as well, so listen carefully."

Great. He knew she wasn't going anywhere. What kinds of rules could he possibly have come up with?

"1) There are to be no more questions regarding anything surrounding our relationship," Sheldon began.

"So, you don't want us to have our little talks anymore?" Amy asked.

"That was an example of a question regarding our relationship. Those are off limits."

Amy put her hands on her hips and just looked at her boyfriend for a while.

"2) All topics of conversation with a third party must be approved by both the boyfriend and the girlfriend before there is further discussion," Sheldon went on.

"That means you can't ask Leonard for advice when you're chickening out of meeting with me," Amy pointed out.

Sheldon thought for a while. "What I meant to say was: 2) All topics of conversation with a third party must be approved by the boyfriend before there is further discussion."

Amy shook her head.

"How about this? 2) All topics of conversation with a third party must be discussed while both the boyfriend and the girlfriend are present?"

"Not gonna happen," Amy told him. "We're our own people, Sheldon. You should be allowed to ask advice if you think you need it. But I should also be allowed to talk to my friends about our relationship. And they have a right to _ask_ whatever they want. It's up to us if we want to answer."

Sheldon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't you understand? This is opening our relationship up to in-depth analysis by our social group."

Amy wanted to bring up a counterpoint to his comment, but instead she asked, "What did Leonard say to you in the laundry room?"

Her boyfriend headed toward his desk chair. "What _didn't_ Leonard say to me in the laundry room? No matter. I have an email to write." He took a seat and opened his laptop.

(_Are you gonna let him get out of this conversation?_) one of her demons asked.

(I'll let him think he's won this battle. But the war is far from over,) Amy thought.

She took a seat and finally opened her own laptop. It was time to see where her little story was going.

_ Her boyfriend reached for the die and gave it a roll. He nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "I remove the remainder of your garments."_

After reading the last line of her fantasy, she frowned. That little love spell seemed so long ago. She'd managed to get him to say some pretty amazing things, but she felt as though something had been missing. At the time, her boyfriend seemed pretty clueless as to what their little role play was doing to her. But if they were to do something like this now, would he be as unresponsive?

_ "Yes?"_

_ Sheldon looked toward the bedroom door, then back at the die. "Are you still on top of me? I image my...'arousal' is in the way."_

_ Amy grinned uncontrollably. "Are you aroused?"_

That reminded her of something she'd asked recently. All she wanted was a straight answer. Was her boyfriend aroused when he thought of her pleasuring herself?

_ "Yes. W-well. My character is what I mean," Sheldon stammered still staring at the die._

_ "Let's not get out of character, here," Amy teased._

_ "I _am_ in character. And my elven magic-user is a-aroused," Sheldon said, his statement losing volume with each word._

And then it dawned on her. He really _had_ told her from the start that when he thought of her before he went to sleep that he had to practice Kolinahr.

_ "I'm aroused too. Very aroused," Amy went on. "What should we do next?"_

_ "I'm not sure. I've never felt anything like this before," Sheldon said quietly._

Amy stopped typing and shut her laptop. Her boyfriend had even admitted that his failure to attain Kolinahr had been a result of thinking about what she was doing with her toothbrush. Yet when she asked him straight out, she could never get an answer from him. (If I stop asking, will he continue to volunteer such information?) she asked herself.

Of course that didn't change the fact that she really was curious as to what went on in his mind when he thought about those moments. Maybe asking for specifics was too much. She'd never really told him the things she thought about when she was overcome with feelings of lust. It seemed inappropriate to volunteer too much information, yet she expected him to do just that.

She looked at the back of Sheldon's neck and thought, (There must be some way for me to get the answers I want without coming off as a nymphomaniac.)

* * *

Upon returning to Amy's apartment, she closed and locked the door. Then before Sheldon could take a seat on her couch, she grabbed his hand and led him to her harp.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"If I remember correctly, I owe you a performance," Amy said as she sat at the harp.

"You do. You do." He stood patiently waiting for her to begin.

Amy played and sang the two songs she'd learned almost flawlessly and after she was done, she looked up at Sheldon. "I don't know if I subconsciously picked that first song, but the second one I chose for its lyrics."

"They're both great songs. And you performed them well," Sheldon told her. "Thank you for playing them again for me. Now, let's watch a few more episodes before bed."

She thought about asking him what he thought of the lyrics, but maybe Raj was right. Maybe her little serenades were wasted on him. Well, she'd done a lot of research on that silly game of his and she already knew the song she would be studying for next week. The third time's the charm, right?

Instead of making a fuss about the lyrics to the song, she kept her big mouth shut, turned out the lights, and joined her boyfriend on the couch. They did their usual blanket thing, but something not so usual happened. Before they even started the DVD, Sheldon was already holding her hand. She looked at him, but he didn't bother to look at her.

(Typical lack of eye contact,) she thought as she started the episode.

* * *

They were finishing off their third episode when Amy finally noticed that Sheldon had fallen asleep. This was a strange occurrence since she was usually the first to fall asleep.

(_Take advantage, you fool!_) all of her demons shouted at the same time.

(What? No...! How?) she asked herself.

Not even her demons had an answer to that question. _Should_ she take advantage? Of course she should! He'd done it to her when he first started holding her hand without her permission. Besides, even her friends told her that she should start making some moves.

Carefully shifting into a more comfortable position on the couch, she leaned against Sheldon and slipped her arm around his waist. A difficult feat, considering she was still holding his hand with her other hand. She almost felt as though they were a normal couple, cuddling on the couch and watching TV.

She sighed as she watched the opening credits to the next episode.

"Amy, we should probably go to bed," Sheldon murmured sleepily.

She looked up at her boyfriend, who was looking down at her, and she had to wonder how long he'd been awake. She was sitting there cuddling him for at least ten minutes. Suddenly she was shy, but she couldn't bring herself to remove her arm from around his waist.

"There are a lot of episodes left and I want to make sure we get to part one of 'The Best of Both Worlds' tomorrow," Sheldon told her.

Yet, he didn't make a move. Shouldn't he try to stand or move her arm out of the way? No. Instead, they both just looked at each other and Amy's thumb unconsciously moved at his waist.

Her boyfriend gave a choked chuckle. "That tickles."

"Oh! Sorry," Amy breathed, finally letting him go. She stood and sighed. Their cuddling had been too short-lived, but he didn't seem to have any objections. That was a miracle in itself. "You wanted to try the couch tonight, right? I'll get the bedding for you." She could almost feel Sheldon's eyes following her as she went to grab the blankets and pillows she usually used while he was spending the night.

"Thank you," Sheldon said, watching her every move as she returned.

"Well, goodnight, Sheldon," she told him, handing him the bedding.

"Goodnight, Amy."

Something about that last bit of interaction made Amy antsy and she quickly went to her bedroom and closed the door. She had to take a few deep breaths to help steady her nerves. (What just happened?) she asked herself.

After putting on her nightgown, Amy hopped into bed and threw the covers up over her head. She had to calm down. She normally would have used this nervous night energy to continue writing her fantasies, but without thinking, she'd left her laptop in the living room. And this nervous night energy was only worsened by the bombardment of Sheldon's scent in her bedding.

(Don't do it, Amy Farrah Fowler. Kolinahr. Kolinahr is the key,) she thought, taking deep breaths. Those deep breaths weren't helping. They were just a means by which to take in her boyfriend's scent.

She threw the covers off the bed and sighed. (This is gonna be a long night.)

* * *

...to be continued...

a/n: The flow of this chapter bugged me. Probably because I cut so much out of it. Maybe I should have left it alone. Oh well. Why don't you tell me what you think? If you didn't like it, it's okay. I'll try to do better next time. Please review and as always, thank you for taking the time to read this chapter.


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